Book Review: How to Train You Billionaire by Kendall Ryan
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Jet-setting romance, grumpy sparks, and billionaire chemistry that soars.
Review Date: May 17, 2026 | Release Date: May 26, 2026
How to Train Your Billionaire by Kendall Ryan is the kind of romance that feels equal parts jet-setting fantasy and cozy emotional comfort. Between billionaire luxury, sparkling banter, and a reluctant connection that slowly sneaks up on both characters, this book delivers a fun, swoony escape with heart.
Frankie Anderson is easy to root for from page one. Recently laid off and trying to rebuild her life, she’s relatable in the way many romance heroines aren’t always allowed to be—messy, uncertain, and trying to hold it together even when life keeps throwing curveballs. Her job as travel companion to the delightfully eccentric Charles Winthrop sounds too good to be true, and honestly? Watching her stumble into private jets, lavish villas, and European charm made for pure escapist reading.
But the real spark comes from Hayes Winters. He’s grumpy, skeptical, emotionally guarded, and exactly the type of hero who insists he doesn’t need anyone—until someone slips past every carefully built wall. His chemistry with Frankie crackles almost immediately, though what worked best for me was how their dynamic unfolded through banter, tension, and reluctant moments of care instead of instant perfection.
The travel setting adds a dreamy backdrop, moving from tropical Hawaii to the romance of the French Riviera and lavender-filled landscapes that practically beg to be bookmarked. Yet beneath the luxury, the story also leans into healing, second chances at happiness, and learning to trust again.
Charles nearly steals the whole book. His meddling, warm-hearted matchmaking energy brings humor and charm to every scene, and it becomes impossible not to root for his not-so-subtle plans.
If you love billionaire romances with grumpy/sunshine vibes, forced proximity, found-family warmth, and plenty of romantic tension wrapped in glamorous settings, How to Train Your Billionaire is an addictive, feel-good escape.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: The Last Book Club by Joanne Rock
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — A twisty book club mystery packed with secrets, suspicion, and shocking twists.
Review Date: May 17, 2026 | Release Date: May 26, 2026
The Last Book Club by Joanne Rock hooked me immediately with its deliciously intriguing premise: a seemingly ordinary neighborhood book club hiding dangerous secrets beneath wine nights and literary discussions. What unfolds is a layered mystery packed with suspicion, buried truths, and plenty of “wait…WHAT?” moments.
Jordyn is such an interesting protagonist because she enters this tight-knit group with an agenda. She isn’t looking for friendship or community—she’s hunting for answers about her foster sister’s suspicious death. That tension adds an edge to every interaction because you’re constantly wondering who is lying, what’s being hidden, and whether Jordyn is walking straight into danger.
The setting of a suburban book club felt especially fun for mystery lovers. Joanne Rock takes something cozy and familiar and turns it into something deeply unsettling. The dynamics between the women in the club are filled with tension, passive-aggressive undercurrents, and carefully buried resentment that slowly bubbles to the surface. Every character felt suspicious enough that I kept changing my theories.
The murder mystery party storyline added another layer of suspense and made the pacing feel especially bingeable. Just when I thought I had things figured out, another reveal would send me spiraling in a completely different direction. This is definitely one of those books where half the fun is trying to piece together the truth before the final reveal.
If you love domestic thrillers with messy friendships, secrets, unreliable motives, and a bookish setting, The Last Book Club deserves a spot on your TBR. Equal parts neighborhood drama and murder mystery, this one proves that sometimes the most dangerous stories are the ones hiding in plain sight.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: Not Over You, Actually by Heidi Stephens
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — A heartfelt second-chance romance filled with road trips, healing, and old sparks.
Review Date: May 17, 2026 | Release Date: May 26, 2026
Not Over You, Actually by Heidi Stephens is the kind of second-chance romance that sneaks up on you. What begins as an awkward exes-at-a-wedding setup turns into a deeply emotional, funny, and quietly hopeful story about rediscovering not only love—but yourself.
Kate is instantly relatable in that messy, “I swear I’m over this… probably” kind of way. Two years after her divorce, she arrives at a dreamy French château wedding expecting champagne, family chaos, and maybe some self-reflection—not her ex-husband looking unexpectedly attractive and somehow more confident than ever. Hugh’s glow-up is real, but what makes him compelling isn’t just the transformation. Beneath the sharper edges and sleeker exterior is still the thoughtful man Kate once loved, and watching them slowly peel back years of hurt, resentment, and misunderstanding felt incredibly authentic.
The South of France and Spain backdrop adds such warmth and escapism to the story. The road trip element gives Kate and Hugh nowhere to hide from their history, and every scenic detour feels layered with emotional weight. Their conversations carry that bittersweet tension unique to second-chance romances: the ache of what went wrong mixed with the impossible hope that maybe things could be different now.
What stood out most was how emotionally mature this felt. This isn’t a romance about pretending the past never happened. It’s about unpacking why a marriage failed, confronting the people they used to be, and figuring out whether love deserves another try after heartbreak. Kate’s personal growth especially shines—she’s not just revisiting a relationship; she’s rediscovering herself.
Warm, heartfelt, and packed with emotional honesty, Not Over You, Actually is perfect for readers who love divorced-couple second chances, romantic road trips, and stories that prove timing matters—but so does growth.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: Tempted Hearts by Cissy Mecca
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — A swoony opposites-attract romance where chaos tempts control—and love rewrites the rules.
Review Date: May 17, 2026 | Release Date: May 25, 2026
Tempted Hearts by Cissy Mecca is the kind of romance that leans into opposites-attract chemistry while delivering all the emotional tension that comes from two people fighting what feels inevitable. Set between the dreamy backdrop of Italy and the familiar charm of Cedar Falls, this story blends wanderlust, vulnerability, and heart-tugging romance into a satisfying emotional journey.
Juliette and Cole are complete opposites from the start. Juliette feels messy in the most human way—overwhelmed, impulsive, and trying to navigate life while carrying more beneath the surface than she lets on. Cole, meanwhile, thrives on order and control, building his life around rules that protect him from getting hurt. Watching these two clash, challenge one another, and slowly become something softer together was one of the strongest parts of the book.
The Italy setting added such a romantic atmosphere, especially in those moments where Juliette’s chaos collides with Cole’s need for structure. Their chemistry builds through quiet tension, reluctant care, and that irresistible feeling of “I absolutely should not want this person… but I do.” Cole especially shines as a hero whose emotional walls slowly crack in the best way.
What worked particularly well was the emotional push and pull once they return to Cedar Falls. The shift from vacation-like escapism to real-life feelings raised the stakes and forced both characters to confront what they actually wanted. The “never fall in love” vow creates delicious tension throughout, especially when it becomes increasingly obvious that Cole is losing the battle against his own rules.
If you love small-town romance, opposites attract, emotionally guarded heroes, and stories where love challenges carefully built walls, Tempted Hearts delivers a heartfelt, chemistry-filled escape with plenty of swoony moments.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.
Book Review: The Night Bus by Tessa Bickers
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — A tender, literary romance about grief, healing, and unexpected connection.
Review Date: May 16, 2026 | Release Date: May 19, 2026
The Night Bus by Tessa Bickers is the kind of story that sneaks up on you. What begins as a quiet, almost ordinary premise—a woman noticing the same stranger reading the same worn book on her early-morning commute—unfolds into something deeply tender, introspective, and unexpectedly hopeful. This is less about grand romantic gestures and more about the fragile, beautiful ways people find one another when they’re quietly falling apart.
Daisy feels stuck in a life she’s accidentally wandered into: planning a wedding she’s not fully convinced she wants, moving through routines that no longer fit, and fading into the background of her own story. Enter Tom, a man carrying grief and mystery in equal measure, clutching a battered copy of Orlando like it contains answers he desperately needs. Their connection starts gently—through curiosity, shared loneliness, and late-night London streets—but grows into something emotionally resonant.
What stood out most was the atmosphere. London in the quiet hours before dawn feels almost dreamlike here, becoming a backdrop for reinvention, vulnerability, and possibility. The literary mystery woven through the story gives it a unique heartbeat, but the emotional core is where the book shines. Daisy and Tom aren’t perfect people searching for perfect love; they’re messy, uncertain, and trying to understand themselves while helping each other heal.
The pacing leans reflective rather than fast-moving, which works beautifully for a story centered on emotional growth and human connection. Readers who love character-driven fiction, bittersweet romance, and stories about second chances—not necessarily with people, but with yourself—will find a lot to love here.
Ultimately, The Night Bus feels like a reminder that sometimes the people who change our lives arrive quietly, in ordinary moments, when we least expect them.
I had the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication, and these are my honest thoughts.