Thursday, June 11, 2026

Book Blitz for Undying by Christy Healy with a GIVEAWAY

 

Undying
Christy Healy
Publication date: June 9th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rory Ó Conchúir has always known that she was destined for war. Her deadly gifts, the unwanted inheritance of her ancestor, the Mórrígan, can only be wielded as a weapon of destruction and doom. For years, she would not allow herself to be used as such, instead choosing to live far across the sea, refusing to regret what she has left behind in order to do so…until the fateful day that she learns of the price she has paid for her peace.

Niall Ó Flannagáin, the young king of Connacht, was never meant for war — that has always been his half-sister, Rory’s, role. But now he finds himself threatened with a foreign invasion and the ruination of the realm, without her aid. In desperation, he turns to a powerful enemy as an ally, his only hope to unite the provinces against the foreign armies gathering even now to destroy the land he has sworn to protect.

Locke MacMurchada, the son of the most hated traitor in all of Éire, owes a debt that he knows he can never pay. But when the opportunity to propose a political marriage with the murderous Rory Ó Conchúir arises, he seizes the chance to protect what is left of both his people, as well as the legacy which his father ripped to shreds…so long as she doesn’t kill him first.

When the fateful day of doom at last arrives, the fates of all three royals – the cursed princess, the young king, and the traitor prince – become inextricably woven together, forcing them to face new threats and old enemies, hoping to forge a stronger Éire from the ashes of the old.


Content Warnings:
Frequent depictions of war & battle scenes
Graphic descriptions of torture & death
Loss of a family member
Discussions of grief & self-hatred
On-page death of major character

Goodreads / Amazon


Author Bio:

Christy Healy has been a book nerd ever since she was a little girl hiding under the covers with a flashlight and a dog-eared copy of Anne of Green Gables. She started writing soon after, and the obsession only grew. Now Christy weaves stories of her own into the myths and tales of the Celtic, Indo-European, and Greco-Roman worlds that she has loved for so long. When not lost in her fantasy worlds, she lives in North Carolina with her children, her dog, and her husband.

Website / Gooodreads / Instagram / TikTok / X / Newsletter


GIVEAWAY!

Undying Blitz


Audiobook Review for Promise: Rogue River by L.B. Dunbar, Samantha Brentmoor (Narrator), Lance Greenfield (Narrator)

 

Promise: Rogue River by L.B. Dunbar, Samantha Brentmoor (Narrator), Lance Greenfield (Narrator)

Published:  May 15, 2026 by L.B. Dunbar Writes, Ltd

Taken from Goodreads:Dart Rivers is my ex-husband, or so I thought.

Three years ago, he drove out of our small town to chase racing dreams, leaving me and my broken heart in his rearview mirror.

Couple goals and shattered promises brought feelings of failure on both our parts.

Then one night, a special delivery is left on my back step. A stork-drop of sorts. (Think Baby Boom). At first, I believe there must be a mistake, but when the sweet bundle swaddled in pink gazes at me, I’ll do anything to keep her.

Enter Dart Rivers again.

An accident on the track leads to him sneaking into the house, crashing on my couch, and announcing he’s still mine.

Close proximity provides honest conversations, friendly couch time, and familiar attractions. With silver speckled in his hair, Dart is still the best-looking man I’ve ever seen, making my belly flutter and my heart beat again.

But can I trust that fragile organ? Can I give my ex-not-ex-husband a second chance? Can I believe Dart’s new promises?

Rogue River series is a spin-off from the Sterling Falls series, specifically Sterling Touch, giving listeners small-town romances with characters over 40.

 

My Thoughts:  I have become an audiobook junkie.  I love listening to a steamy second chance romance.  Promise is the perfect listen for me.   The narrators are perfect for this book as they brought the characters to life.   The emotions were real and raw, the feelings were felt through hearing the words, and their stories were true to life.  

I enjoyed that Dart came back to Presley but could she let him back in?  Neither character had moved on from each other but there are some changes in their lives.   I was intrigued to see how they would be able to come together.  Would they be able to fit together, be able to accept each other again?   Could they make this relationship work again?   Presley was very cautious and I like that she made him prove himself, prove that he would not leave again, prove that she is the most important thing in his life.  

I am excited for more from Rogue River.  The characters are a little more mature in life but still looking for the spice and romance in life.

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the book via BookFunnel in exchange for my honest review.

 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon



Meet the Author (taken from her website):  L.B. Dunbar loves sexy silver foxes, second chances, and small towns. If you enjoy older characters in your romance reads, including a hero with a little silver in his scruff and a heroine rediscovering her worth, then welcome to romance for those over 40. L.B. Dunbar’s signature works include women and men in their prime taking another turn at love and happily ever after. She’s a USA TODAY Bestseller as well as #1 Bestseller on Amazon in Later in Life Romance with her Lakeside Cottage and Road Trips & Romance series. L.B. lives in Chicago with her own sexy silver fox.

To get all the scoop about the self-proclaimed queen of silver fox romance, join her on Facebook at Loving L.B. or receive her monthly newsletter, Love Notes.

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Book Blitz for Arcanum: Secrets of the Madonna by Kelly O’Hearn with a GIVEAWAY

 

Arcanum: Secrets of the Madonna
Kelly O’Hearn
(Arcanum, #3)
Publication date: June 9th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Sometimes happily ever after takes more than one two three lifetimes.
The anticipated third book in the Arcanum series, the only book series channeled through the tarot.
____________________________________

Sarah Fuller has it all—a fragrance empire, a terrace overlooking Central Park, the perfect life. Until a frightening episode shatters everything she thought she knew. Now her husband’s iPhone location is mysteriously off, and the charming widower Harry is impossible to forget.

Haunted by the tarot’s tales of past lives and ancient secrets, Sarah is drawn to Rome—to galleries where Renaissance masterpieces seem to know her name, to shadows of the Inquisition where forbidden love once bloomed, to a truth hidden within the Vatican’s darkest corners.

Who is the woman in those paintings, gazing out across centuries? And why does Sarah recognize herself in her eyes?

From the elite Hamptons to the pyramids of ancient Egypt, from medieval French castles to the dangerous splendor of a newly built Vatican, one woman must unravel the mystery of her soul—before history repeats its most devastating mistake.

This is the story of Arcanum.

In a world where love transcends time, some vows are meant to be broken.
_____________________________________________________________________________

“Sensual, spiritually charged, and utterly unputdownable.”
Marisa Halstead
Founder and CEO of Seeded Sound

Advance Praise for Book Three in the Arcanum Series:
“Sarah’s journey reminds us that love does not vanish-it endures, waiting patiently for the moment we are ready to receive it again. This story left me with a deep sense of peace, wonder, and the quiet certainty that what is meant for us will always find its way home.”

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

JG Melon, June 13

“God, you look terrible.”

Max held Sarah at arm’s length, nose wrinkled, examining her as if she were Chinese takeout possibly left in the fridge too long.

She wrestled free and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Well…you look fabulous as always. Are those real glasses or just for effect? They’re…also fabulous.” She slid into a chair.

“They’re genuine tortoise shell. Vintage. Not cheap,” he said. “They’re for reading, but Lord, I’m going to have to take them off for this lunch. I don’t want to be able to see you this well. You need an Instagram filter or something.” He sat down, still eyeing her critically.

“Well, take them off then,” she said. “We certainly know the menu by heart. And I know, I’ve let myself go a little, missed a few waxing appointments and such. If this is what my eyebrows look like, you can only imagine the state of my—”

“Darling, we’re eating,” Max said. “Poor Carl, that’s all I can say. I bet he still looks polished as always.”

“Handsome as ever,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “Shall we order, seeing as I need to put on five pounds immediately?”

“And get to a salon this afternoon!” he said. “Nails, hair, Botox, the whole thing. You are the CEO of a luxury brand, for god’s sake. Thank goodness it’s summer and nearly everyone is out of town.” He waved over Charlie, their favorite waiter.

“The usual?” Charlie said.

“Yes, please, and stat! Sarah looks like she hasn’t eaten in weeks, doesn’t she, Charlie?”

“You two, always bickering like an old married couple,” Charlie said as he walked away, shaking his head.

Max turned to Sarah. “Now. Tell me about my godchild. How is she feeling?”

“Max, it’s incredible. Alex was in the ICU not six weeks ago, and she’s been fully cleared to go to sleepaway camp. The doctor told us that kids recover from her condition quickly, but if you’d asked me in the hospital whether she would make it to camp this year…I didn’t even know if she would make it home by now. It’s as if it never happened.”

“Sarah, that’s such great news,” Max said. “I called Alex the other day and all she could talk about was having gotten excused from the last two weeks of school. She was thrilled! Especially since having a sick twin sister didn’t get her brother the same dispensation.”

Sarah laughed. “Yes, Sam’s hoping for a dire illness, possibly in September.” She covered her face with her hands. “Actually, you know what, it’s too soon to joke about it.”

“Maybe this will help,” Max said as he filled her glass with red wine. They clinked glasses. “To health,” he said.

“To health.” They both took a sip.

“So let me get this straight,” Max said. “Alex has been back to normal for weeks. Carl has not a hair out of place. The camp bags are nearly packed. And you’re still a mess?”

Sarah covered her eyes again. “I knowwww. I just got so close to losing everything. It really rattled me, Max. Stuart and Sofia have basically been running the company for the past several weeks—and honestly everything is going fine. Gallica’s a hit, we had another great harvest of roses in France, my Arcanum core fragrances are doing well. Do you ever feel like your time has come and gone?”

“Sarah, you’re forty-one, even if you do look eighty right now.” Max patted her arm, then topped off her glass. “You’ve got a whole lotta living left to do. What happened to the Sarah who believed in past lives? The Sarah who slayed at that gorgeous launch party for Gallica? Who caught the eye of ‘Manhattan’s Hottest Bachelor’? He was obsessed with you.”

“Was obsessed?” Sarah said, blushing slightly. “I told you what happened in France? Our little tête-à-tête in the ancient forest?”

“And how you insisted that he go through with his engagement to Simone? Yes, you told me.” Max took a copy of the New York Post out of his tote and put his glasses back on. “Sweetie, he took your advice and ran with it. All the way to Harry Winston.”

Author Bio:

When Kelly O’Hearn first stepped off the train in the city of Florence, Italy, as a 20-year-old, she had the overwhelming instinct that she had been there before. In a place famous for its maze of medieval streets, O’Hearn navigated the city as if she had lived there for a lifetime. Born in New York City, O’Hearn first put her intuitive skills to work as a professional wine taster, instructor, and sommelier in the elite institutions of New York, Portugal, and Aspen. After raising her two children and enduring a personal health crisis, in 2012, she was drawn to begin reading the tarot cards, an ancient practice which does not presume to “predict the future” but offers a collection of stories, perspectives, and self-reflections that can guide one to become one’s most authentic self. O’Hearn is in high demand for her readings, with clients on every continent but Antartica. While most people were baking sourdough or riding their Pelotons during the Covid pandemic, O’Hearn used the tarot cards to channel her own past lives. Weeks of readings, all captured on video, yielded six storylines of herself as several powerful women over the millennia and around the globe: the same one soul, over time, persevering against all odds in the quest for happiness and the love of a soul mate. This time-bending saga inspired O’Hearn to conceive of a series of novels titled Arcanum. Book One: In the Temple Shadows is available now. Book Two: Whispers in the Forest will be released Spring of 2025.

Website / Facebook / TikTok / Instagram


GIVEAWAY!

Arcanum 3 Blitz


Book Review for Lost in the Summer of '69 by Eliza Knight

 

Lost in the Summer of '69 by Eliza Knight

Published:   June 9, 2026 by Sourcebooks Landmark

Genre:  Historical Fiction

 

Taken from Goodreads:  Daisy Jones and the Six meets Where’d You Go Bernadette in an epic story from USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight, in which a soon-to-be empty-nester’s mother goes missing, leading her on a road trip with her daughter to track grandma down at a series of music festivals that popped up across the country in the summer of '69.


Summer, 1969. Eleanor Bell, a widow, has always given everything she had to her family, forgoing her own dreams of becoming a singer. When she receives a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s on the eve of her sixty-ninth birthday, she decides to go on an epic musical bucket-list trip to fulfill her dreams: A summer tour of festivals.

Except she forgets, maybe on purpose, to tell anyone where she’s going. Leanne Miller discovers her mother missing, and she enlists the help of her somewhat distant college-aged daughter, Nora, to help her find Eleanor. The last thing Nora wants to do before starting as one of Yale's first female undergrads is to hit the road. But then Nora hears something strange on the radio—her grandmother’s voice. Nora and Leanne embark on a road trip in her husband’s Lincoln Continental from Atlanta, to California, Denver, Seattle, back to New York, and then New Orleans, always one step behind Eleanor, who has been dubbed the Dame of Rock n’ Roll by none other than Johnny Carson. It's an epic celebration of savoring the encore no matter what the next act may bring.

 

My Thoughts:   I read this book on Mother’s Day 2026 and it is the perfect book for the holiday.  Not only is it a book about a woman reliving her youth, but it is also a book about a daughter seeing her mother in a different light.   It is a book about rediscovering yourself, finding your true self, and making changes for a different life.

Everything about Lost in the Summer of ’69 is perfect.   I love the relationships, the friendships made, the music performed, and the road trip.  There is so much music history within this story, the names are top notch names, the songs are familiar to any music listener.   

The Summer of ’69 is the perfect summer read.   I am an Eliza Knight fan and cannot wait to read more of her books.


Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

 

Meet the Author (taken from her website):  Eliza Knight is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author.

Her love of history began as a young girl when she traipsed the halls of Versailles and ran through the fields in Southern France. She can still remember standing before the great golden palace, and imagining what life must have been like. Join Eliza (sometimes as E.) on riveting historical journeys that cross landscapes around the world. Eliza will also publish her first contemporary women's fiction novel in 2025 under the pseudonym, Michelle Brandon.

While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends.

She is the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed and host on the History, Books and Wine podcast.

She lives in the sunshine state with her own knight in shining armor, three princesses, two very naughty Newfies, and a turtle named Fish.







Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Available Now!! Say You Love Me by Jami Rogers

 



Say You Love Me by Jami Rogers is now live!



One offer from Dutton Richford is all it takes to land me in a deal with the enemy.

For a man who I've spent most of my life despising (and I assumed it went both ways), he knew exactly what to say to convince me to help him. 

You see, he wants his father to choose him as the next owner of Lovers Lodge, the destination venue our small town is most known for, and I want to finally own my own business and expand it. 

We both have obstacles that are keeping us from getting what we want, and somehow, teaming up makes the most sense. 

It doesn’t take long for me to learn that I never really knew the man who has managed to steal my attention in just a few short weeks. The man who is much more observant and kinder than I expected him to be. Don’t even get me started on his bright green eyes, his sculpted body, and the dimple in his left cheek when he smiles. Which is rare, by the way, but he’s starting to do it more and more often with me. 

The way my heart pounds and my body heats when he’s near me, looks at me, touches me, or speaks to me is something I’m beginning to crave.

It makes hating him that much harder. 

And that’s a problem, because what’s a girl supposed to do when a harmless deal turns into something more with a man who has always been forbidden?




 Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4s4HmYf      


Goodreads: https://bit.ly/40vtOsR 



A black and white sign with white text

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Meet Jami Rogers



My name is Jami Rogers and I write fun, fast, flirty romance with heat. I love love and want to share my passion for happily ever afters with the world. My favorite tropes to write are enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, roommates, and my best friend’s brother/sister. Writing a romantic comedy that makes you laugh out loud is what I aim for. Happy reading!

 

Connect with Jami

Website | www.authorjamirogers.com   

Goodreads | https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20704365.Jami_Rogers   

Amazon | https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jami-Rogers/author/B00XZ1XVCA    

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJamiRogers      

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorjamirogers    

Bookbub |  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jami-rogers        

Newsletter |  https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/398546/85278477170771173/share  

Book Blitz for Deceptive Inheritance by Jennifer Anne Davis with a GIVEAWAY

 

Deceptive Inheritance
Jennifer Anne Davis
(Remnants of the Lost, #1)
Publication date: June 9th 2026
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Laney Lake transfers to Stonemore University with a plan: two years of freedom before real life drags her back home. After a lifetime of overprotective parents and careful rules, she’s determined to finally live by making friends, saying yes more often, and experiencing the things she’s always been told to avoid.

Then Rowan Ward notices her.

To the rest of campus, he’s the rugby captain. He’s charming, confident, and impossible to miss. To himself, he’s a werewolf barely maintaining control. Rowan is the next alpha, bound to a future already chosen for him. His girlfriend is perfect on paper. She’s from a powerful bloodline, unquestioned loyalty, and the one his father expects him to marry. It should be enough.

It isn’t.

Laney pulls at him in a way nothing ever has, stripping control down to instinct and want. He knows he should stay away. Instead, he watches her. Circles her. Fights urges that feel older than reason.

Laney doesn’t know what he’s hiding. She only knows that when he’s near, her body wakes up and she’s warm, restless, and painfully aware of how badly she wants him to touch her. As Laney leans into her stolen freedom and Rowan teeters on the edge of breaking every rule he’s sworn to follow, old laws begin to strain. Because Laney isn’t ordinary. And if Rowan’s world discovers why she matters, choosing her could cost him everything.

She wanted two years of fun.
He was never supposed to want her.
But some instincts don’t care about rules.
And some sparks are born to burn.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

EXCERPT:

I opened the door, got out, walked around the front of the car, and stood there staring at the empty field before me.

Then I fell to my knees and screamed. It seemed as if something were clawing inside me, begging to be set free. That only frightened me even more.

“What’s going on?” Sarah asked, coming to my side and wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “You’re scaring me.”

Tears streamed down my face. It took me a minute before I could answer. “That makes two of us. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t know what I am. My own parents are lying to me.” I’d never been so afraid in all my life.

“What are we going to do?” Sarah asked.

I loved that there was a we in this. It made me feel less alone. “Right now, we’re not going to do anything. We’re still investigating because we don’t have enough information to know how to move forward.”

“Are you going to talk to your mom?”

“Eventually. But not yet. I don’t want either of my parents to know I suspect something.”

“Okay.” Sarah stood and pulled me to my feet.

And then I remembered what Adan had asked about whether my parents were my biological parents. “First, I need to see who I’m living with.”

“This is seriously like something out of a movie,” Sarah said. “Like this is insane.”

I happened to agree with her. It all seemed so surreal, that I was having trouble believing any of it myself. “I’m going to need you to be quiet about it.” We got back in the car. “Don’t talk to anyone about this. Promise me.”

“I promise I won’t say anything.”

I pulled back onto the street and started driving toward my house, wondering who and what I was.

Author Bio:

Jennifer Anne Davis is the bestselling, award-winning author of YA fantasy and NA paranormal romance. She graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. She lives in the San Diego area with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband and their rambunctious, spoiled GSP.

Her three adult children are in college and graduate school. When she’s not writing, Jennifer can be found reading, crocheting, or baking sourdough bread.

Jennifer has always loved writing stories where the stakes are high and the tension is even higher.

Awards:
Cage of Deceit: Winner 2018 Kindle Book Awards
The Key: Finalist 2014 USA Book Awards
The Voice: Finalist 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
The Voice: Winner 2013 San Diego Book Awards

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Bookbub / Instagram / X / Tiktok


GIVEAWAY!

Deceptive Inheritance Blitz


Audiobook Review for The Unwilling Bride by L. Steele

 The Hamiltons #1

The Unwilling Bride by L. Steele, Shane East (Narrator), Evelyn Rose (Narrator) 

Published:  June 2, 2026 by L. Steele

Genre:  Romance, Marriage of Convenience, Contemporary Romance


Taken from Goodreads:  He’s my best friend’s brother. My billionaire boss. And now… my fake husband


I walked into his restaurant needing a paycheck.
Now I’m his fake wife.
And if I’m not careful, I might just fall for the man I hate.

James Hamilton is grumpy. Emotionally unavailable. Impossible to reach.
He’s also my best friend’s brother.
The man who broke my heart without even trying.
Now he’s a world-famous chef. Well known for his brilliance.

Working for him is my chance at the career of my dreams.
But when he calls me out in front of his entire staff.
I decide to leave.
But James stops me with an offer I never saw coming.
marriage of convenience to secure the future of his culinary empire.

In return, he will pay off my debts and help my family.
I should refuse.
Instead, I say yes.

His rules are simple.
This is a contract.
There will be no feelings.
No expectations.
No future.

I agree to keep things strictly professional.
But the longer I share his home and answer to the title of his wife, the harder it is to pretend this is just business.

And when he lets me see the man behind the reputation,
I start to wonder if this fake marriage is the most real thing I have ever known...

My Thoughts: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶   The Unwilling Bride is not for the faint of heart or those who get put off by spice.  L. Steele, the author, wrote a book that did not leave much to the imagination.   She played it all out and it was so good. 

James is all business.  In his kitchen, in his bed, and in his life.  There is no room to change his mind, everyone should just fall into line.   Until Harper walked into his restaurant reminding him that there could be more to life than just working. 

I listened to this book and the narrators are perfect.   The British accents were just the right touch to bring this book and the characters to life.   The growl of James’ voice and the defiance of Harper’s voice was definite as I listened to this story.   I know that there were times I was blushing, but never did I consider not continuing the book.   I was invested in their relationship.   There was hope that Harper would show him how to truly live.

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the book via BookFunnel in exchange for my honest review.

 

Add to your MUST-LISTEN list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Monday, June 8, 2026

Available Now!! Left Field by Lisa Suzanne

 

Left Field by Lisa Suzanne is now live!


LEFT FIELD is a spicy Pro Baseball, Forced Proximity, Vacation Romance from Amazon Top Ten Bestselling author Lisa Suzanne.

After accepting an offer from a luxury resort in the Bahamas, my dream of becoming a travel influencer is finally within reach. I just need one thing to make me stand out…like the pro baseball player I run into on my first night.

Archer Bradley is here for the opposite. He doesn’t want attention. He definitely doesn’t want me crashing his dinner with a smile and a camera. He’s broody and distant, but he’s also hot and charming. One night tangled in his sheets has me addicted.

When he finds out what I do, he makes me promise not to feature him. And the more time I spend with him, the easier it becomes to respect that boundary—especially as he starts to see the real me behind my camera-ready smile.

I didn’t come here to fall for some athlete, but somewhere between couples’ yoga and sunset walks on the beach, I did.

Now I have to choose between the career I’ve worked for my entire life and the love that slammed into me straight out of left field.


Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

https://geni.us/leftfield


Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3N811YB

Friday, June 5, 2026

Audiobook Review for Just Playing for Keeps by Lauren Blakely

 

Hockey Ever After #2

Just Playing for Keeps by Lauren Blakely

Published:  June 3, 2026

Genre:  Fake Dating, Sports Romance, Hockey Romance

Taken from Goodreads: A grumpy/sunshine fake dating hockey romance from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely!

Ever hear the story about the dating coach who got dumped on the hockey arena’s jumbotron?

Everyone did. But I lived it. Including the moment when the team’s broody, tattooed winger Lake Axelrod swooped in on skates to rescue me from public humiliation.

Even more surprising? When the famously grumpy (and ridiculously sexy) hockey star insists on being my fake boyfriend for my sister’s high-profile wedding.

It’s the perfect sweet revenge plan since my ex is the best man. Bonus – I might even salvage my professional reputation.

We need rules though.

1. To pull this off, everyone from his teammates to my boss has to believe we’re a real couple.

2. That means swoony touches and knee-weakening kisses are required.

3. When it ends, we walk away.

But the intensity in Lake’s eyes after every post-game kiss makes me wonder if he’s pretending. With each whispered secret, the line between fake and real bends. Until it shatters one night in a hotel room.

Soon, he isn’t just playing the protective boyfriend—he’s the only one who truly sees me.

If I’m not careful, I’m going to break the most important rule of all: don’t fall for your fake date.

This is Lake and Remy's romance. Tropes include: grumpy/sunshine hockey romance, fake dating, workplace romance, best friend's brother, obsessed hero

 

My Thoughts:  Oh this book, I listened to it.  The people I work with think I am losing my mind.  They heard me laughing, saw me blushing, and heard me sighing.   This book had me finding time to listen when I should have been doing something else but I just needed one more chapter, which lead to 2 or 3 more chapters. 

Hockey romance is my jam and Lauren Blakely knows how to write it.  Then she picked out the best full-cast of narrators and the book came to life for me.  Lake and Remy are wonderful characters, they fake date with the best of the world.   I love the twists and turns, the cute romance, and the way Lake goes above and beyond to show his true feelings. 

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the audiobook via BookFunnel in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-LISTEN list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Book Review for The Queen's Coronation by Jennifer Ryan

 

The Queen's Coronation by Jennifer Ryan

Published:  June 2, 2026 by Ballantine Books

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Women’s History, British History

Taken from Goodreads:  As a young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to take the throne, three women in her employ will discover where they belong in a rapidly changing world in this heartwarming novel from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir.

London, 1953. Buckingham Palace and the many employees vital to the smooth running of the monarchy find themselves in bedlam as the Queen's coronation quickly approaches.

Caroline Brimstone, assistant dresser to the queen, watches the queen finding the strength to rule—a woman taking charge of her future. Meanwhile, Caroline’s life is worn thin by her gambler husband, and she is barely holding on as every penny she earns seems to run out the door. When a trip to Balmoral brings her face-to-face with the man she once loved, she finds herself at a crossroads between what her life is and what her life could be. Can she, like the queen, find the strength to define her own future?

Lucy Jones is a junior wardrobe assistant who positively radiates life—she's young, idealistic, and eager to become a famous singer. So when a handsome, wealthy man at the palace promises to help her on her way to stardom, she's over the moon to have such a supportive husband-to-be. And if he's asking some things of her that she's not quite sure about, isn't that just part of the glamorous life?

Miranda Miller has come over from America just in time to help with preparations as a temporary secretary in the palace. The job is a perfect way to gather information for the article she's writing about the coronation for a magazine back in New York; the article that will keep her boss from firing her because of her gender.

But as all three women discover, just because a woman will soon be sitting upon the throne, it doesn't mean that society will change overnight—and if they want to carve places for themselves in this world, they'll have to do it together.

 

My Thoughts:  I love the Royal Family, getting glimpses into their lives is one of my favorite things to read about.   The Queen’s Coronation is a great look at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and how her life changed.   I also enjoyed seeing how the staff of the Royal Family were put to work, how they formed families and relationships, how much their lives were overtaken by the Royal Family.   

This is the story of three women who all are working for Queen Elizabeth during her coronation.  Each has their own story to tell but together they have many things in common.  They are each dealing with personal lives that are not easy or what they pictured for themselves.   They each have their own losses and are struggling with working through them.  I enjoyed how much they came together with their love and support for each other.   Even when they did not agree with each other, they stayed true to their friendships.   

The Queen’s Coronation is a beautiful story that features a Queen that will change the future.  The three women who share their story, help that Queen see that the future is hers while also taking hold of their own futures. 

Thank you Ballantine Books for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Meet theAuthor (taken from her website):  Jennifer Ryan is the author of National Bestseller THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR, THE SPIES OF SHILLING LANE, THE KITCHEN FRONT, THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE, AND THE UNDERGROUND LIBRARY. Her writing has featured in Literary Hub, Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, The Daily Mail, The Irish Times, The Express, BBC Online, YOU Magazine, The Simple Things Magazine, and Good Reading Magazine. Previously a book editor with The Economist, DK, and the BBC, she moved from London to Washington, DC after marrying, and she now lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children. Her novels are inspired by her grandmother's tales of the war in Britain.