Book Review: The Rebound by Kelly Jamieson
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — A tender, snowy second-chance romance full of heart and healing.
Review Date: June 20, 2026 | Release Date: June 25, 2026
There’s something uniquely heartbreaking about two people who never stopped loving each other—they just stopped knowing how to love each other through grief. The Rebound captures that feeling beautifully.
Carson and Ayla’s relationship didn’t end because of betrayal or lack of love. It unraveled under the weight of tragedy, and that made their second-chance romance all the more emotional. From the very first chapter, there’s an undeniable ache between them, the kind that comes from unfinished conversations and feelings that never truly disappeared.
The fake dating setup at a snowy mountain cabin creates the perfect environment for old emotions to resurface. Between shared memories, lingering touches, and the comfort of familiar routines, it becomes impossible to ignore the fact that these two still fit together—even if they’re afraid to admit it.
Carson is wonderfully swoony: a professional hockey player who hides his pain behind determination and long hours on the ice. Meanwhile, Ayla is relatable in her struggle to keep moving forward while carrying the weight of loss. Their chemistry never disappeared, and every interaction crackles with unresolved tension and longing.
What makes this story shine is its emotional maturity. It explores how grief can change people, create distance, and make communication feel impossible. But it also shows that love can survive even the darkest seasons if both people are willing to be vulnerable and do the work.
Warm, tender, and wonderfully emotional, The Rebound is a second-chance romance filled with snowy vibes, heartfelt healing, and the reminder that sometimes the person you need most is the one you thought you’d lost forever.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
🐾🐾🐾🐾 —A delightfully scandalous seaside romance filled with pirates, secrets, and swoony adventure.
Review Date: June 20, 2026 | Release Date: June 23, 2026
Alexandra Vasti delivers another utterly delightful historical romance with Scandal of the Summer, a book bursting with wit, chaos, and enough chemistry to set the Cornish coast ablaze.
Lady Ruby Ballimore is the kind of heroine you immediately want to root for. She’s unconventional, impulsive, and gloriously uninterested in fitting into society’s neat little boxes. After one scandal too many, she escapes London in search of freedom and adventure—only to stumble upon a crumbling estate and a suspiciously handsome man who is definitely not what he seems.
Enter Captain Malcolm Archer: former privateer, current rogue, and an expert at charming his way out of trouble. His plan to use an abandoned estate as the perfect hiding place for his crew goes spectacularly wrong when Ruby arrives with her friends and refuses to be intimidated by sea monsters, creepy crawlies, or his attempts to scare her away.
What follows is a deliciously entertaining battle of wills filled with mistaken identities, fake roles, secret schemes, and an irresistible slow-burn romance. Ruby and Archer complement each other perfectly—she sees through every one of his lies, and he recognizes the brilliant, adventurous woman beneath her eccentric exterior.
The romance is swoony, playful, and deeply heartfelt. Beneath the humor and hijinks lies a story about finding where you belong and allowing yourself to be loved exactly as you are. Vasti’s writing sparkles with clever banter and vibrant characters, and the found-family dynamic among Archer’s crew adds warmth and charm to every page.
Equal parts romantic escapade and seaside adventure, Scandal of the Summer is a refreshing historical romance that feels like sunshine, salt air, and falling in love when you least expect it.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: Married to the Scottish Player by Sara Ney
🐾🐾🐾🐾 —A cozy, kilt-filled rom-com that proves the best love stories are the unexpected ones.
Review Date: June 20, 2026 | Release Date: June 23, 2026
Sara Ney delivers another charming, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy with Married to the Scottish Play, blending small-town coziness, forced proximity, and a swoony accidental marriage into one irresistible package.
Annabelle Franklin is stressed, overworked, and desperately in need of a break, so a relaxing staycation in a cozy cabin sounds like the perfect escape. Unfortunately, she arrives to find the cabin already occupied by Callum “Maverick” McBride, a recovering football player with a thick Scottish accent, an abundance of muscles, and absolutely no intention of leaving.
Their initial annoyance quickly turns into playful banter and undeniable chemistry. Watching these two go from reluctant roommates to something much deeper was an absolute delight. The forced proximity creates endless opportunities for tension, laughter, and those wonderfully intimate moments that make romance readers swoon.
Callum is impossible not to love. Beneath his gruff exterior is a caring, thoughtful man who simply needed a little time to heal. And Annabelle is the perfect match for him—organized, kind-hearted, and wonderfully relatable as she tries to keep her life together while everything around her spirals into delightful chaos.
The accidental Vegas-style marriage trope shines here because it never feels forced. Instead, it becomes the catalyst for two people to realize that sometimes life’s biggest surprises end up being exactly what we need. Their relationship develops naturally, with plenty of humor and heartfelt moments that make you root for them from the very beginning.
Filled with charming small-town vibes, witty dialogue, and enough Scottish charm to make your heart melt, Married to the Scottish Player is the kind of rom-com that leaves you smiling long after you’ve turned the final page. It’s warm, funny, and proof that sometimes the best love stories begin with a mistake.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: Winner Takes All by Emily Martin
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Vegas chaos, sizzling chemistry, and rivals who can’t stop falling.
Review Date: June 7, 2026 | Release Date: June 23, 2026
Vegas weddings, rival record execs, a missing night of memories, and a race to sign the hottest band in music? Winner Takes All hits every note of a rom-com that feels chaotic in the best possible way.
Emily Martin delivers a sharp, funny, chemistry-packed romance that blends workplace rivalry with forced proximity and the kind of emotional tension that sneaks up on you between laugh-out-loud disasters. Eleanor and Adam are the definition of complicated: competitive, stubborn, wildly ambitious, and still carrying the baggage of a messy professional history. Watching them wake up married in Las Vegas with no recollection of how it happened is only the beginning of the chaos.
What makes this story shine is how effortlessly it balances humor with heart. Yes, there are ridiculous Vegas mishaps—casino security, missing IDs, strip club lawyers, and an increasingly frantic attempt to undo their impulsive wedding before the clock runs out. But underneath the mayhem is a genuinely compelling second-chance dynamic between two people forced to confront old hurts and unresolved feelings while trying very hard not to fall for each other again.
The music industry setting gives the story an extra spark. The rivalry to sign Dempsey adds tension beyond the romance, creating stakes that feel personal and professional at the same time. Eleanor is ambitious and determined without losing her vulnerability, while Adam slowly reveals there’s more beneath his frustratingly charming exterior than Eleanor wants to admit.
Fans of witty banter, enemies-to-lovers tension, and “what happens in Vegas definitely does not stay in Vegas” energy will have a great time with this one. It’s fast-paced, smart, and packed with sparkling chemistry, but it also leaves room for quieter moments that make the romance feel earned.
If Book Lovers and The Hangover had a music-industry rom-com baby, Winner Takes All would absolutely be it—messy, romantic, hilarious, and impossible not to root for.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: Brain Games by Nicole Alfrine
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Brains, banter, and blistering chemistry make this medical romance impossible to resist.
Review Date: June 7, 2026 | Release Date: June 16, 2026
There is something wildly addictive about a romance where two people are equally matched in ambition, stubbornness, and chemistry, and Brain Games delivers exactly that. Nicole Alfrine crafts a medical romance that feels fast-paced, competitive, and emotionally charged while still giving readers plenty of tension-filled moments to obsess over.
Delilah Harper is impossible not to root for. She’s brilliant, determined, and fiercely focused on becoming a neurosurgeon, even when the pressure of residency threatens to overwhelm her. Her dedication feels authentic, and the intensity of the medical setting raises the stakes in every scene. Residency is already brutal, but throwing her longtime academic rival into the mix? Absolute chaos in the best possible way.
Bradly Gallow is the kind of hero that initially makes you roll your eyes before completely winning you over. He’s cocky, frustratingly intelligent, and always seems one step ahead—which makes the rivalry between him and Delilah endlessly entertaining. Their banter is sharp, competitive, and full of tension that practically jumps off the page. You can feel years of history behind every interaction, and the slow shift from rivals to something more is incredibly satisfying.
What makes Brain Games stand out is how seamlessly the medical drama blends with the romance. The high-pressure hospital environment adds intensity without overshadowing the emotional connection developing between the characters. The “Brain Games” competition itself creates the perfect excuse for forced proximity, one-upmanship, and simmering attraction that neither wants to admit exists.
The chemistry here absolutely sizzles, but there’s also vulnerability beneath all the competitive posturing. Watching Delilah and Bradly slowly lower their defenses while navigating impossible workloads, professional ambition, and unexpected feelings made this romance feel more layered than your typical rivals-to-lovers story.
If you love medical dramas with strong personalities, competitive tension, workplace romance, and plenty of spice, Brain Games deserves a spot on your TBR. Think Chicago Med meets enemies-to-lovers with a whole lot of tension and heart.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.