renae_reads_romance's reviews
878 reviews

Asking for Trouble by Giana Darling

5.0

Book Title: Asking for Trouble Author: Giana Darling     

Series: Fallen Men #8

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Who knew Asking for Trouble could be so damn good!😏🥵

Giana has done it again! I have fallen head over heels for another Fallen Men man and his badass lady!

I won’t say much about this book, other than it was fucking amazing! And I don’t want to spoil anything, it’s best to go in blind and just enjoy the ride. 

What I will say is you can expect the all the best from our Fallen Men and their ladies. I say this every time I read a new book in this series, but it honestly feels,like coming home, there’s just something so special about this series and it holds a special place in my heart. 

I never thought I’d fall hard for Boner but boy did I! That man is so damn in love with Blue and I loved every second of it! I mean this man protected her from the moment he saw, he did everything he could to make her smile, he made her dreams possible in her darkest times, he moved heaven and earth for her. The scene where he visited her at work and was her client was the sweetest thing ever!

And Blue! I love her so much! She may not see herself as strong or powerful but is 100% is. The shit she’s been through would cripple most people but she pushed on and tried to make a life for herself. And the way Boner constantly lifted her up. 

I loved the forbiddenness, the sneaking around, the way they were so smitten with each other and of course the suspense! Had me on the edge of my seat!

And the spice in this! Damn I forgot how good Giana’s spice is and oh how I missed it!

While this may be considered a novella, it’s still 300+ pages and I honestly wished it was longer!

Honestly if you love dark romance, taboo romance, forbidden romance, all that goodness with the spiciest spice and a captivating plot then you really need to read this series! And I definitely recommend reading them in order as there’s a plot line that continues throughout the series. 

The Legend of Heart Mountain by K.C. Lynn

Book Title: The Legend of Heart Mountain Author: KC Lynn     

Series: Heart Mountain #2

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

Okay who doesn’t love a childhood friends to lovers romance! I’m obsessed with them!

Ellie and Gunnar have been best friends since they were 8\9 years old, they are literally inseparable, they do everything together. 

When Ellie makes a big life decision, that she wants Gunnar’s help, he eventually gives but only on his terms. (I’m being vague for a reason, I don’t want to spoil anything!)

The decision they’ve made has brought forth these feelings both of them have been ignoring but are now having to face head on. 

There’s just something so amazing about watching to friends realise their feelings for each other. Ellie and Gunnar were a couple in every sense of the word with actually being a “couple” and when they finally become a couple, it was like all the pieces falling into place. 

If you’re looking for something light, sweet but still has the right amount of spice and is a quick and easy read, then I definitely recommend this one! 

Walkoff Wedding by Maren Moore

5.0

Book Title: Walkoff Wedding Author: Maren Moore    

Series: Orleans University #3

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

If you have been looking for spicer, more bot obsessed version of A Cinderella Story then look no further! Walkoff Wedding is everything I wanted and needed it to be and more!

Addie and Grant first “meet” during an online chat group at their university and instantly hit it off. After months of talking to each other every day, and learning everything about each other, Grant finally asks her to meet him in person but she ghosts him. 

Fast forward 9 months and the 2 of them accidentally meet at a party but have no idea that thats who each other is. When Addie forgets her art folder behind, Grant realises this might be his only chance to find her. So he puts flyers all over the university with the smallest hope of finding her. 

And OMG the moment they finally meet and realise who the other is, was just too perfect!

But Addie has a big problem and when Grant offers to step in and be her fake husband to help her out of said problem, she can’t say no. 

This book is everything you want a marriage of convenience to be! These 2 were falling so hard for each other, and the “my wife/my husband” moments had me squealing! 

Grant is the most perfect husband, I love the way he’s completely obsessed with Addie and constantly supporting her and showing up for her all the time. Addie was so shy and reserved but Grant really brought her out of her shell and showed her what she truly deserves. 

And Addie was so supportive of Grant, helping him when she could with his sponsorship and being eternally grateful to him for helping her. She brightened his day every day by just being herself and I love them so much! The 2 of them were so gone for each other, it was adorable to watch. And the spice 🫣 my god Grant has a dirty mouth on him and I loved every minute of it!🥵

Honestly I could go on and on about how much I truly love this book but just go ahead and read it and fall in love with Addie & Grant for yourself!

Where We Started by Ashley Munoz

4.5

Book Title: Where We Started Author: Ashley Munoz   

Series: Stone Riders MC #1

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

I’ve had this on my TBR since it came out and I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner! I absolutely loved it!

I don’t want to give too much away as I liked not knowing much. What I will tell you is that it’s a childhood friends to lovers to enemies to lovers with so much angst and tension!

There’s just something about second chance romances that give all the angst. I was hooked on Calle and Wes from the beginning! You could see they were both still deeply hurt from each other’s actions but they still had so much love for each other, that neither wanted to admit. 

I don’t want to give too much away as I liked not knowing much. What I will tell is that it’s a childhood friends to lovers to enemies to lovers with so much angst and tension!

There’s just something about second chance romances that give all the angst. I was hooked on Calle and Wes from the beginning! You could see they were both still deeply hurt from each other’s actions but they still had so much love for each other, that neither wanted to admit. 

This book had me trying to guess what was gonna happen from the beginning but I never saw the twists coming! I could not put it down! I need to know how everything was going to play out! I do wish there was a little more danger/suspense as I love that in my MC romances but either way it was a fantastic read and I definitely recommend. I will 100% be continuing the series!

Mad Love by Willow Aster

4.0

Book Title: Mad Love Author: Willow Aster   

Series: The Single Dad Playbook #1

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

This is my first time reading a Willow Aster book and I can definitely see the appeal! 

I will admit this took me until the 30% mark to really get into it and start enjoying it but from then I didn’t want to put it down!

Sadie has just lost her sister and has been left to raise her 2 month old nephew. She never expected the baby’s father to show up and actually want to be in his child’s life. 

Weston is a pro NHL player and living his best single life until he gets a phone call to say his son (who he no idea about) has been involved in accident and he’s listed as the father. 

The first few chapters were definitely heavy and dealing with a lot of grief but I liked how Weston handled it all. As soon as he met his son he fell in love and was committed to being in his life. 

I loved watching Sadie and Weston navigate this new life together. Weston offered to let Sadie and the baby move in with him, which she accepted but they’re both so nervous and untrusting of each other. 

After a few months of co-parenting feelings start to develop between them and it was so cute watching them fall for each while already being this adorable family. I loved that nothing was rushed between them, that they were very open with each other and constantly reassuring each other, whether about their feelings or being parents. 

I also loved Weston’s friends, a few players on the team are single dads and they have these little meetings together which Weston and his friend were never apart of until he suddenly became a dad. They are such a great bunch of friends, absolutely hilarious together but forever supporting each other too. 

If you’re in the mood for a single dad, forced proximity and roommates to lovers then definitely check this one out! Super excited to see where this series goes! 

A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows by Holly Renee
Did not finish book. Stopped at 4%.

Wasn’t in the mood 

The Magic of Heart Mountain by K.C. Lynn

4.0

Book Title: The Magic of Heart Mountain Author: KC Lynn   

Series: Heart Mountain 

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was the cutest, funniest little Christmas romance to start of KC Lynn’s new series!

“It’s said the mountain has magical powers that can unite two souls destined to be together. According to the legend, at the stroke of midnight under a full moon, if you share a kiss on the mountain’s ledge, you’ll be bound to your one true love forever.”

When Hollis and Mike quite literally bump into each other on Hollis’ first day in Passion Falls it leads to a bit of a heated interaction. And even though it’s a small town, neither of them excepted to run into each other again when Mike little sister, Poppy, befriends her. 

This book was just so much fun to read! Mike and Hollis are the literal grump and sunshine, loved the banter between them. And Mike is a basically a dad to his little sister, those two are adorable and so funny together!

Honestly if you’re looking for a cute and fun Christmas read then this definitely the book to pick up! So excited for the next book!

And no he’s not a cowboy cop but it’s the only cop card I have ☺️

False Start by Kandi Steiner

5.0

Book Title: False Start Author: Kandi Steiner  

Series: Red Zone Rivals #5

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

Never thought it would happen but I fell for Kyle and I mean I fell hard! I literally could not stand him before but now he’s one of the elite book boyfriends!

Kyle is the cocky, arrogant college football we all loved to hate. Fast forward to the start of his NFL career and he’s looking for a house. Never did he expected his real estate agent to be his ex girlfriend, who he’s hated. 

Madelyn is a single mom, working hard to provide for herself and her son after leaving her abusive husband. When Kyle shows up as her mystery client, they’re both shocked and angry at each other. Things didn’t end well between them and they haven’t spoken in years. 

Kyle was determined to keep hating her but all his old feelings came back and no matter how hard he tried to stay mad, something kept drawing him to her, he wanted to know everything about her now. 

Madelyn is wary of Kyle, he broke her heart years ago and a lot of that pain is still there. But when Kyle sees bruises in the shape of a hand on her arm, he goes into full protective mode. She tells him who it’s from and he comes up with a plan to help her. They’ll fake date to get her ex away and so he doesn’t have to go to his friend’s wedding alone. 

I was expecting to love this as much as I did but OMG Kandi! What did you put in this book?! Had everything I love and even the dreaded miscommunication trope, which I normally hate but this was done so well and it didn’t last the entire book!🙌 

I don’t want to give too much away, as I feel it’s best to go in only reading the blurb, but do yourself a favour and read this book, even if you didn’t like Kyle, his character growth in this was brilliant. He is swoon worthy, elite book boyfriend material!

And one of my favourite things above this book we got to see the whole gang again! I love how they’ve all remained friends!

Forbidden King by Laura Pavlov

4.5

Book Title: Forbidden King Author: Laura Pavlov  

Series: Magnolia Falls #3

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

I don’t know what Laura Pavlov puts in her books but they are crack! I flew through this book without even realising I got so far, it was that good!

Saylor is Hayes’ little sister and she’s back home to home open her romance bookstore. King is one of Hayes best friends. When Hayes has to go out of town for a bit he asks king to look out for sister cause their stepfather is a real douche. 

Saylor and King have had a connection since they were teenagers and she lived with his family. But now that’s she home for good they both start spending more time together and realise that they like each other as more than friends. King is adamant about not crossing that line as it’s his best friend’s little sister and he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. 

I loved king and Saylor so much! They were so cute and fun together! I loved that King was such a loyal friend to Hayes but when he realised how deep his feelings were for Saylor he couldn’t stay away. 

If you like brothers best friend/best friends sister, friends to lovers, some angst and a bit of sneaking around then I definitely recommend this book!

Fall With Me by Brooke Montgomery

5.0

Book Title: Fall With Me Author: Brooke Montgomery

Series: Sugarland Creek #3

Star Rating: ♾️ Steam Rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book was everything I wanted it to be! I cannot remember the last time I started and finished a book in one day but I could not put this down! 

Please check your trigger warnings before reading. 

Spoilers Ahead!

Ellie is trying to become one of the best Barrel Races, so she turns to Noah, one of the best trainers to help her, unfortunately that help also includes Noah’s brother Landon who Ellie despises for reasons we find out later on. 

Landon is the middle child of the Hollis group, he oversees all the breeding at the ranch and also helps his sister Noah out with her training. And he is absolutely smitten with Ellie from the beginning even though the hate coming from her is as clear as anything 😂

One thing I love about Brooke’s writing is that she takes you back to the beginning of every relationship, so if you’ve read Stay With Me you know that it ended with a 😱 moment and I have been dying to find out what happens next. Little run down; Ellie gets sick at one of her events and falls off her horse and hits her head. She wakes up in hospital with no memory of Landon at all! 

But Landon is there the moment she wakes up and she immediately gets a crush on him. The whole situation was so funny, Landon was so unsure what to about but Ellie was determined to know him, since she literally has no memory of him. And I loved watching them become actual friends. It was such a slow burn for them but once they got closer and gave into being in a relationship, Landon was hesitant because he knows old Ellie hates him and he doesn’t want to get his heart broken again if her memory comes back. Honestly the amnesia was a blessing Ellie because she finally got to see who Landon really is and it makes her question why she would’ve hated him the first place. 

I know I’ve probably given too much away but there is so much more to their story and I could go on and on but please just read it! It has the perfect hate to love, the best banter, an amazing slow burn that goes heats up deliciously! I honestly wish the book was longer, I loved them so much!