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jessicadesamota's reviews
217 reviews
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
5.0
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison 🩷
Heartstrings, Book 1
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
448 pages
🗓️ February 11
🎧Single mom
🩷Reluctant romantic v. Hopeless romantic
🎧Radio host + Guest host
🩷Close proximity
🎧Sleepless in Seattle inspired
📍“I like that. Thinking that I’m worth paying attention to. Something ordinary made extraordinary by the person you’re sharing it with.”
📍“You said pineapple on pizza is disgusting.”
“It is.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“Because you said it was your favorite,” I admit. “And I want your favorite to be my favorite.”
Tender, cozy and full of magic… the love kind of magic. First-Time Caller is a fresh take on a classic that carries both the nostalgia of back then and the hope only new things can hold.
B.K. Borison once again wrote a love letter to love. A love letter to all the romantics, even the ones who don’t know they are one yet. Heartstrings’ studio had the same feeling as Lovelight Farms: that home-like vibe that welcomes you with open arms as a first-timer-old-friend.
In many ways, First-Time Caller took me home. A feeling of arriving to where one belongs. And for that, I offered it an endless supply of smiles and deep sighs.
Aiden Valen(tine) and Lucie Stone were so ridiculously cute, I just want to squeeze them 🥹
Thank you so much @authorbkborison @berkleyromance @berkleypub and @netgalley for this gifted eARC. 🩷
Heartstrings, Book 1
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
448 pages
🗓️ February 11
🎧Single mom
🩷Reluctant romantic v. Hopeless romantic
🎧Radio host + Guest host
🩷Close proximity
🎧Sleepless in Seattle inspired
📍“I like that. Thinking that I’m worth paying attention to. Something ordinary made extraordinary by the person you’re sharing it with.”
📍“You said pineapple on pizza is disgusting.”
“It is.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“Because you said it was your favorite,” I admit. “And I want your favorite to be my favorite.”
Tender, cozy and full of magic… the love kind of magic. First-Time Caller is a fresh take on a classic that carries both the nostalgia of back then and the hope only new things can hold.
B.K. Borison once again wrote a love letter to love. A love letter to all the romantics, even the ones who don’t know they are one yet. Heartstrings’ studio had the same feeling as Lovelight Farms: that home-like vibe that welcomes you with open arms as a first-timer-old-friend.
In many ways, First-Time Caller took me home. A feeling of arriving to where one belongs. And for that, I offered it an endless supply of smiles and deep sighs.
Aiden Valen(tine) and Lucie Stone were so ridiculously cute, I just want to squeeze them 🥹
Thank you so much @authorbkborison @berkleyromance @berkleypub and @netgalley for this gifted eARC. 🩷
Under An Endless Moon by A.L. Jackson
5.0
Under an Endless Moon by A.L. Jackson 🖤
Moonlit Ridge, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
470 pages
🗓️ February 10
🖤best friend’s sister
🖤mutual pining
🖤romantic suspense
🖤former MC member
🖤close proximity
🖤one bed and some nightmares 👀
🖤touch her and ☠️
📍“No, Raven, I doubt the things we go through ever fully go away. They scar us and mark us forever. It’s how we handle those scars that define us.”
📍“You’re the first thought I have when I open my eyes in the morning and the last one before I got to sleep.”
It’s the mutual pining for me. It does things inside this poor soul of mine. Now, I knew I was going to love Otto and Raven. I knew they were going to be this beautifully wrapped Christmas gift to us. I knew I was going to become completely and unapologetically obsessed with them. I knew. But actually experiencing it was all I need it to make this cold, cold winter… a burning inferno of happiness.
I’m not sure what A.L. Jackson puts in these books… you know, besides her amazing talent and hard work. 😜But whatever it is… yes, please and thank you 🫶🏼 I never want to leave Moonlit Ridge, this band of brothers and all that is still in store for us.
Also, I did NOT see that twist coming. The ****** one. And yet if felt amazing to jump and gasp 😱
Thank you for this incredible ARC 🥹 and this physical copy… it’s a dream 🫂
Moonlit Ridge, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
470 pages
🗓️ February 10
🖤best friend’s sister
🖤mutual pining
🖤romantic suspense
🖤former MC member
🖤close proximity
🖤one bed and some nightmares 👀
🖤touch her and ☠️
📍“No, Raven, I doubt the things we go through ever fully go away. They scar us and mark us forever. It’s how we handle those scars that define us.”
📍“You’re the first thought I have when I open my eyes in the morning and the last one before I got to sleep.”
It’s the mutual pining for me. It does things inside this poor soul of mine. Now, I knew I was going to love Otto and Raven. I knew they were going to be this beautifully wrapped Christmas gift to us. I knew I was going to become completely and unapologetically obsessed with them. I knew. But actually experiencing it was all I need it to make this cold, cold winter… a burning inferno of happiness.
I’m not sure what A.L. Jackson puts in these books… you know, besides her amazing talent and hard work. 😜But whatever it is… yes, please and thank you 🫶🏼 I never want to leave Moonlit Ridge, this band of brothers and all that is still in store for us.
Also, I did NOT see that twist coming. The ****** one. And yet if felt amazing to jump and gasp 😱
Thank you for this incredible ARC 🥹 and this physical copy… it’s a dream 🫂
Skate the Line by S.J. Sylvis
5.0
Skate the Line by S.J. Sylvis 💙
Blue Devils Hockey, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Sports Romance
ARC Review
494 pages
🗓️ February 6
🏑hockey romance
💙nanny/single dad
🏑woman on the run
💙romantic suspense
🏑slow burn
💙grumpy x sunshine
🏑close proximity
Rhodes Volkova, Sunny Edwards and little Ellie. Is it cringe if I tattoo their names on me? Would it be less cringe or more cringe if I do a sun with a hockey stick and a puck instead? I might have loved this one that much. But I’ll embrace my cringe-ness with class and a full chest.
Sports (hockey) romances just hit different. But making this a nanny/single dad book should’ve been illegal. With love after trauma? A dash of suspense too? Are you kidding me 🤌🏼 This was the perfect pie of tropes and I ate it all.
Nothing was rushed. Nothing was boring. Nothing was left “unfelt.” Nothing was left “incomplete.” Sunny and Rhodes’ story was told to perfection and had me wanting more and more with every interaction.
I also loved how we got to see more and more of my beloved Blue Devils. 😌
Can’t recommend this one enough 👏🏼
Thank you for this ARC.
Blue Devils Hockey, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Sports Romance
ARC Review
494 pages
🗓️ February 6
🏑hockey romance
💙nanny/single dad
🏑woman on the run
💙romantic suspense
🏑slow burn
💙grumpy x sunshine
🏑close proximity
Rhodes Volkova, Sunny Edwards and little Ellie. Is it cringe if I tattoo their names on me? Would it be less cringe or more cringe if I do a sun with a hockey stick and a puck instead? I might have loved this one that much. But I’ll embrace my cringe-ness with class and a full chest.
Sports (hockey) romances just hit different. But making this a nanny/single dad book should’ve been illegal. With love after trauma? A dash of suspense too? Are you kidding me 🤌🏼 This was the perfect pie of tropes and I ate it all.
Nothing was rushed. Nothing was boring. Nothing was left “unfelt.” Nothing was left “incomplete.” Sunny and Rhodes’ story was told to perfection and had me wanting more and more with every interaction.
I also loved how we got to see more and more of my beloved Blue Devils. 😌
Can’t recommend this one enough 👏🏼
Thank you for this ARC.
Tempt me by Alexia Chase
2.5
Tempt Me by Alexia Chase 💚
A Blissful Sinful Small Town Series, Book 1
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️💫
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
300 pages
🗓️ February 5
💚best friend’s sister
💛mutual pining
💚secret tattoo
💛no 3rd act breakup
📍”I don’t want you to do that because of me.” “Who else would I do it for?”
This book barely reached the 300 page mark. It needed to be 500. Did I love the main characters? Yes. Did I get to really know them? No. Did I love the conflict? Yes. Did the said conflict (of years!) get unraveled in a blink of an eye? Also yes.
This was fun and short.
But it had everything to be absolutely remarkable if longer, not as rushed and very much less *instant* in all its steps.
A Blissful Sinful Small Town Series, Book 1
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️💫
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
300 pages
🗓️ February 5
💚best friend’s sister
💛mutual pining
💚secret tattoo
💛no 3rd act breakup
📍”I don’t want you to do that because of me.” “Who else would I do it for?”
This book barely reached the 300 page mark. It needed to be 500. Did I love the main characters? Yes. Did I get to really know them? No. Did I love the conflict? Yes. Did the said conflict (of years!) get unraveled in a blink of an eye? Also yes.
This was fun and short.
But it had everything to be absolutely remarkable if longer, not as rushed and very much less *instant* in all its steps.
When Hearts Awaken by Victoria Lum
5.0
When Hearts Awaken by Victoria Lum 🖤
The Orchid, Book 4
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
427 pages
🗓️ February 5
🖤enemies to lovers
🩰romantic suspense
🖤he falls first
🩰love after trauma
🖤best friend’s sister
🩰age gap
🖤slow burn
🩰ballerina FMC
📍“Roses are much more beautiful with thorns.”
📍“I see you, Charles Vaughn. One day, they’ll see you too.”
As a Maxwell girlie, I now declare I’m a forever-Charles-simp. Please note that dark haired MMCs have been replaced with blondes. I don’t make the rules. My heart does.
This is — hands down — one of my favorite reads of 2025. And while the year is just starting, I don’t see that changing. The way it grabbed my attention and never let it go was just one of those things I’ll think about often. 👏🏼👏🏼
Taylor, my prickly swan. Only the Odiles will ever understand that there’s beauty in the dark and strength in thorns. I know I do. The black swan has always drew me in, but Taylor took that allure and made it into a pulsing love inside my heart. She was a dazzling Odile and resilient Odette. I think I watched her dance both in my head and in my heart 🦢
While sharing some of my thoughts with Victoria, she told me Taylor required someone special like Charles. Those walls were built high and he was not afraid of tearing them down. Charles *is* indeed special and one of those MMCs who leave a mark on us, with us.
Thank you so much @authorvictorialum for this ARC.
P.S.: the next one in the series has one of my FAVORITE tropes EVER! IM NOT CHILLED ABOUT THIS. NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT 😱😱😱
The Orchid, Book 4
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
427 pages
🗓️ February 5
🖤enemies to lovers
🩰romantic suspense
🖤he falls first
🩰love after trauma
🖤best friend’s sister
🩰age gap
🖤slow burn
🩰ballerina FMC
📍“Roses are much more beautiful with thorns.”
📍“I see you, Charles Vaughn. One day, they’ll see you too.”
As a Maxwell girlie, I now declare I’m a forever-Charles-simp. Please note that dark haired MMCs have been replaced with blondes. I don’t make the rules. My heart does.
This is — hands down — one of my favorite reads of 2025. And while the year is just starting, I don’t see that changing. The way it grabbed my attention and never let it go was just one of those things I’ll think about often. 👏🏼👏🏼
Taylor, my prickly swan. Only the Odiles will ever understand that there’s beauty in the dark and strength in thorns. I know I do. The black swan has always drew me in, but Taylor took that allure and made it into a pulsing love inside my heart. She was a dazzling Odile and resilient Odette. I think I watched her dance both in my head and in my heart 🦢
While sharing some of my thoughts with Victoria, she told me Taylor required someone special like Charles. Those walls were built high and he was not afraid of tearing them down. Charles *is* indeed special and one of those MMCs who leave a mark on us, with us.
Thank you so much @authorvictorialum for this ARC.
P.S.: the next one in the series has one of my FAVORITE tropes EVER! IM NOT CHILLED ABOUT THIS. NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT 😱😱😱
The Last Dance You Saved by L.J. Evans
5.0
The Last Dance You Saved by LJ Evans 💛
The Hatley Family, Book 3
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
525 pages
🗓️ February 5
💛small town romance
🥃romantic suspense
💛age gap
🥃single dad
💛one (almost) night to more
🥃slow burn
💛close proximity
📍”The certainty she was mine was an absolute truth. She’d stormed into my life right when I’d needed her.”
I had a not so great week and this book was a lifeline. My unlucky week was, perhaps, luckier than I realized because any other book and I would’ve drown. I would’ve been going to sleep earlier than any person should’ve just to escape. But no. I didn’t have to run. Instead I got lost in the pages of this brilliant romantic suspense.
The action was superb, the plot flawless. But the best? The best of the best were these characters. I love them three so fiercely, with my whole chest and in full color. They had me holding my breath, offering smiles and wanting to cry. They were these living creatures made of words on paper that I’m going to carry with me for a long time.
Thank you LJ Evans not only for this ARC but for sharing the Hatleys with me (us). 🥹😭🩷
The Hatley Family, Book 3
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
525 pages
🗓️ February 5
💛small town romance
🥃romantic suspense
💛age gap
🥃single dad
💛one (almost) night to more
🥃slow burn
💛close proximity
📍”The certainty she was mine was an absolute truth. She’d stormed into my life right when I’d needed her.”
I had a not so great week and this book was a lifeline. My unlucky week was, perhaps, luckier than I realized because any other book and I would’ve drown. I would’ve been going to sleep earlier than any person should’ve just to escape. But no. I didn’t have to run. Instead I got lost in the pages of this brilliant romantic suspense.
The action was superb, the plot flawless. But the best? The best of the best were these characters. I love them three so fiercely, with my whole chest and in full color. They had me holding my breath, offering smiles and wanting to cry. They were these living creatures made of words on paper that I’m going to carry with me for a long time.
Thank you LJ Evans not only for this ARC but for sharing the Hatleys with me (us). 🥹😭🩷
Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey
3.5
Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey ❤️
Big Shots, Book 3
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Adult • Sports Romance
ARC Review
320 pages
🗓️ February 4
🏒hockey romance
❤️future step siblings
🏒attraction to friendship to more
❤️slow burn
🏒opposites attract
❤️cute nicknames
📍“You aren’t in charge of my love life.”
“I am your love life, Chloe.”
When I started It Happened One Summer I very much disliked the FMC. By the end of it, I was her most fierce defender.
In many ways, the same can be said about Dream Girl Drama and its FMC. Only I’m not her most fierce defender. I’m more like a casual friend who wishes her the best.
When I say it took me a minute to like Chloe, I’m not kidding. It really did take a long time. But it did happen. Funny thing though, I actually loved her with Sig. I loved their banter and their “I can’t take it anymore” confessions. It’s her alone I struggled with.
But all in all, a super fun read, with hilarious moments and an incredibly funny secondary cast. It wasn’t Fangirl Down but I would definitely recommend it if looking for a low stakes, extremely entertaining book. 🫶🏼
Thank you so much Tessa Bailey, @avonbooks and @netgalley for this ARC.
Big Shots, Book 3
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Adult • Sports Romance
ARC Review
320 pages
🗓️ February 4
🏒hockey romance
❤️future step siblings
🏒attraction to friendship to more
❤️slow burn
🏒opposites attract
❤️cute nicknames
📍“You aren’t in charge of my love life.”
“I am your love life, Chloe.”
When I started It Happened One Summer I very much disliked the FMC. By the end of it, I was her most fierce defender.
In many ways, the same can be said about Dream Girl Drama and its FMC. Only I’m not her most fierce defender. I’m more like a casual friend who wishes her the best.
When I say it took me a minute to like Chloe, I’m not kidding. It really did take a long time. But it did happen. Funny thing though, I actually loved her with Sig. I loved their banter and their “I can’t take it anymore” confessions. It’s her alone I struggled with.
But all in all, a super fun read, with hilarious moments and an incredibly funny secondary cast. It wasn’t Fangirl Down but I would definitely recommend it if looking for a low stakes, extremely entertaining book. 🫶🏼
Thank you so much Tessa Bailey, @avonbooks and @netgalley for this ARC.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
5.0
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood 💙
Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NA • Sports Romance
ARC Review
464 pages
🗓️ February 4
🩱swimming/diving romance
💙teammate’s ex-boyfriend
🩱casual to more
💙not grumpy, but reserved
🩱secret relationship
💙research partners (team)
🩱college romance
📍“It’ll be okay, baby. No matter what happens, you will still be you. No matter what happens, you will be okay.”
📍 “Oh, sweetheart. If you don’t think that I’m very aware of your presence, always, you have no idea what’s going on.”
One of my favorite Ali Hazelwood’s. Right up there with Love Theoretically. My goodness. My. Goodness.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I obviously didn’t read any blurb for it because this is Ali. The one who made me read romance. The one who opened me the door to a whole new world. She could write a thesis on the benefits of watching paint dry and I would still dive into it excitedly.
But pancakes with syrup, wasn’t this absolutely superb!!! Lukas is the grumpy (reserved) Swedish god of the swimming pool waters. He’s written by Ali. You know he is absolutely perfection.
But Scarlet. Scarlet is the goddess who rules over all the introverts on this good earth. She’s the queen of all of us - the “I can go to parties, I just prefer staying home” 😌
It’s an Ali. It’s perfect. You will love it. 😌
Thank you so much for this gifted ARC @berkleyromance @berkleypub @netgalley @alihazelwood
P.S.: it’s the nicknames for me 😌
Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NA • Sports Romance
ARC Review
464 pages
🗓️ February 4
🩱swimming/diving romance
💙teammate’s ex-boyfriend
🩱casual to more
💙not grumpy, but reserved
🩱secret relationship
💙research partners (team)
🩱college romance
📍“It’ll be okay, baby. No matter what happens, you will still be you. No matter what happens, you will be okay.”
📍 “Oh, sweetheart. If you don’t think that I’m very aware of your presence, always, you have no idea what’s going on.”
One of my favorite Ali Hazelwood’s. Right up there with Love Theoretically. My goodness. My. Goodness.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I obviously didn’t read any blurb for it because this is Ali. The one who made me read romance. The one who opened me the door to a whole new world. She could write a thesis on the benefits of watching paint dry and I would still dive into it excitedly.
But pancakes with syrup, wasn’t this absolutely superb!!! Lukas is the grumpy (reserved) Swedish god of the swimming pool waters. He’s written by Ali. You know he is absolutely perfection.
But Scarlet. Scarlet is the goddess who rules over all the introverts on this good earth. She’s the queen of all of us - the “I can go to parties, I just prefer staying home” 😌
It’s an Ali. It’s perfect. You will love it. 😌
Thank you so much for this gifted ARC @berkleyromance @berkleypub @netgalley @alihazelwood
P.S.: it’s the nicknames for me 😌
Need You To Choose Me by Anna B. Doe
5.0
Need You to Choose Me by Anna B. Doe ❤️
Bluebonnet Creek, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
489 pages
🗓️ January 24
❤️single dad
💛former pro-football player
❤️unexpected pregnancy
💛one night to more
❤️neighbors to lovers
💛no 3rd act breakup
📍“You’re mine, you get that? No more playing around. No more bs. Mine.”
📍“I see you, Savannah.”
From prologue to epilogue, a delight of a read that I was physically incapable of putting down. Almost 500 pages that went by in a blink of a twinkling eye. 😜
Vulnerable yet strong. If I had to describe this story and these characters in three words or less, that would be it. And there’s something special about that. Something relatable. Something attainable. We all have moments of vulnerability and that sure doesn’t make us weak. The opposite in fact.
Sav showed us all of those sides to her. But so did Blake. A man who made mistakes but a man who knows he is choosing different from now on. A man who knows he would choose differently if he could, not because he intentionally hurt them but because he thought that was the best he could do.
I love stories like this one that make me feel with my whole heart. 💛
Bluebonnet Creek, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
489 pages
🗓️ January 24
❤️single dad
💛former pro-football player
❤️unexpected pregnancy
💛one night to more
❤️neighbors to lovers
💛no 3rd act breakup
📍“You’re mine, you get that? No more playing around. No more bs. Mine.”
📍“I see you, Savannah.”
From prologue to epilogue, a delight of a read that I was physically incapable of putting down. Almost 500 pages that went by in a blink of a twinkling eye. 😜
Vulnerable yet strong. If I had to describe this story and these characters in three words or less, that would be it. And there’s something special about that. Something relatable. Something attainable. We all have moments of vulnerability and that sure doesn’t make us weak. The opposite in fact.
Sav showed us all of those sides to her. But so did Blake. A man who made mistakes but a man who knows he is choosing different from now on. A man who knows he would choose differently if he could, not because he intentionally hurt them but because he thought that was the best he could do.
I love stories like this one that make me feel with my whole heart. 💛
Comeback by Rebecca Jenshak
5.0
Comeback by Rebecca Jenshak 💚
Holland Brothers, Book 3
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Sports Romance
ARC Review
359 pages
🗓️ January 30
🏈football romance
💚best friend’s sister
🏈roommates
💚close proximity
🏈deaf MMC
💚no 3rd act breakup
📍“I could hear you fine,” he says, “But I like your mouth. The way you talk is beautiful.”
I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.
I knew Archer would be the one to d€stroy me so thoroughly, that only this book existed. I accidentally stayed up until 1:26am reading it and it was 100% worth it. I couldn’t put it down; I kept coming back to it 😉
I’ve been a fan of Archer’s since the campus wallflowers series. What I didn’t know was how equally a goner I would be for Sabrina. I mean I did meet her and adored her in the prior book, but this one made me love her something fierce.
There are few things perfect in life. This book is one of those things 🫶🏼
Thank you so much this eARC.
P.S.: my asthma is also the worst amidst stressful situations 🫶🏼
Holland Brothers, Book 3
Interconnected Standalone
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Sports Romance
ARC Review
359 pages
🗓️ January 30
🏈football romance
💚best friend’s sister
🏈roommates
💚close proximity
🏈deaf MMC
💚no 3rd act breakup
📍“I could hear you fine,” he says, “But I like your mouth. The way you talk is beautiful.”
I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.
I knew Archer would be the one to d€stroy me so thoroughly, that only this book existed. I accidentally stayed up until 1:26am reading it and it was 100% worth it. I couldn’t put it down; I kept coming back to it 😉
I’ve been a fan of Archer’s since the campus wallflowers series. What I didn’t know was how equally a goner I would be for Sabrina. I mean I did meet her and adored her in the prior book, but this one made me love her something fierce.
There are few things perfect in life. This book is one of those things 🫶🏼
Thank you so much this eARC.
P.S.: my asthma is also the worst amidst stressful situations 🫶🏼