Another book and another batch of cookies 🍪😏

9/10. To anyone who is unaware: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is absolutely amazing!!🌈

Cath and Wren are twin sisters who have grown up with a shared love of Simon Snow, a magical series they were obsessed with and even began writing fan fiction for. Now, starting their first year of university it seems Cath is the only one still writing, while her sister Wren is moving on in her social world. Cath is a true introvert just like her dad, bordering on social anxiety, and for the first time she is without Wren by her side. In such a scary new setting with new friends, and new (cute) boys, Cath chooses to fall on Simon Snow and her thousands of fans that are waiting for her to finish her fanfic once and for all.

Fangirl was such a unique story that was more about Cath(er)‘s journey and experiences than a love story. But a love story all the same. A romance between her and her characters, a true introvert being forced out of her shell but staying true to herself.

This was like a love letter to all the bookish girls who grew up in the Harry Potter fandom, and if you’re anything like me you will relate so hard to this one. It’s so unlike the standard romance novel formula. I can’t recommend it enough!

Illustrated cover stack 💕🌸 They say to never judge a book by its cover, but I must admit that I do ALL THE TIME. The new trend in romance novels is to steer away from photos of a cheesy couple on the cover and instead showcase an adorable illustration that is more accessible to readers.

I personally gravitate towards these illustrated covers, mainly because I like to picture the characters myself and as soon as there’s a model on the cover, that unfortunately becomes the person I imagine while reading. Plus, who doesn’t love a super cute graphic?! 💕🌸

Do you choose your books by their covers??

Well Met by Jen Deluca 🌸

This book made me so happy!! ☺️💕 I was a little unsure about the Renaissance festival theme, but I quickly came around. It was such a sweet book and I absolutely loved stickler Simon becoming pirate Simon (I imagined him as Tom Holland). It was nice to have a literary escape into a summer of love and Faire 💕🌸 8/10

Emily comes to small town Willow Creek to help her sister and niece who were just in a terrible car accident. It came at the perfect time, as her boyfriend kicked her to the curb once he landed his dream job. Now she’s signed up to volunteer for the town’s renaissance fair so her niece can participate, but she has to deal with stick in the mud Simon who is running the show and has a real hatred for all things Emily for some strange reason…

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey 6.5 / 10

Rosie and Dominic have been married for 10 years and they don’t talk anymore. Where there was once love and devotion is now hate sex and silence. Rosie is sick of being alone in a marriage and decides to leave him. Dom realizes he needs to make Rosie see just how big a part of his world she really is.

I’m giving this one a 6.5/10 because it definitely had some flaws. It is the 21st century so reading about a man who is uncomfortable with his wife spending time with her friends and going out to a bar is not cool. However is it wrong for an author to ever write characters that are old fashioned and caveman-esque ever again? These types of protagonists still exist in real life, and in this case I think the author was at least attempting to show that his controlling ways don’t work. Hence the marriage falling apart at the start leading to his learning how to let her be herself and ultimately they grow together.

I liked their relationship in the end, the steamy scenes were absolutely insane and I enjoyed that the story touched on the topic of love languages (that each of us have our own ways of expressing love). However it was really hard to root for a man that was so unhealthy as a partner for the majority of the plot.

A little French toast and Pucked Up by Helena Hunting 🏒 .

This series is so fun and silly, it’s the perfect distraction from this isolation craziness and the steamy scenes don’t hurt either ;). The setting was awesome too, I love a good camp theme, and northern Muskoka was a great literary location to escape to. When I was reading this one I pictured Auston Matthews as Miller “Buck” Butterson and GiGi Hadid as Sunny “Sunshine” Waters.

Buck may have been interested in Sunny initially just to piss off her brother/his teammate Alex, but very quickly he realized that Sunny was special and was worth becoming a one woman kind of guy. Sunny is granola, an ultra sweet yoga instructor who doesn’t have a bad word to say about anybody. The problem is Buck’s bad reputation and all the puck bunnies he’s bagged over the years has been following him and won’t leave his new relationship alone. Miller is trying to prove to Sunny and himself that he’s worth sticking around for…

I’m giving this one an 8/10, Buck and Sunny weren’t my fave couple of the group (they’re just a little too mushy for me), but the story had some hilarious antics including an unfortunate spider bite situation 🕷😳

This whole series is steamy, hilarious and puts a smile on my face every time, if you haven’t picked up Pucked I would definitely recommend!

Pucked Over by Helena Hunting 🏒

8.5/10 🔥 Yes I may have read this series out of order, but whateverrr 💁‍♀️ Lily and Randy’s story was great to finally get to. I liked how they had similar family struggles and related on a lot levels. One of my favourite themes is when a couple starts out as “nothing serious” or just hooking up, and ultimately fall for each other.

Lily is a hardworking figure skating coach with multiple jobs, living with her mom and saving up to get into a physio program. Randy Ballistic is a pro hockey player who is infamous for his “stick skills” off the ice.. what he’s not known for is settling down with someone. When he starts hooking up with Lily, he’s just a rebound for her 7 year relationship with a sociopath. Soon enough Randy starts to see Lily as more than just a fling, but it’s up to Lily to decide she can trust Randy or if once again she’ll be Pucked Over…

Dark Wild Night by Christina Lauren 💙

After reading Dirty Rowdy Thing, I downloaded the next in the Wild Seasons series, Dark Wild Night, and finished it the next day. This series is fantastic! Each character in this friend group has their own style and unique connection to their partner, so each book is fresh but still funny, emotional and sexy af!

After a wild night in Vegas where 6 strangers, 3 girls and 3 guys get married, Oliver and Lola were the only ones of the group that decided to just be friends. In the 8 months after Vegas they’ve become as close as friends can get, doing everything together, including their shared love of comic books (Oliver owns a comic book store, Lola wrote a best selling comic). Lola has a huge crush on Oliver but won’t make a move again after he told her from the beginning he doesn’t see her that way. Meanwhile, Oliver has slowly started to fall for Lola and everyone seems to know it but her…

This one gave me such Seth Cohen vibes!! I really like that each chapter is from Oliver or Lola’s perspective so their mutual confusion over each other is so sweet. I’m giving this one an 8/10 💙

#booksharks #readeveryday #bookaddict #romancebooks #bookshelf #bookobsessed #readingincanada #goodbookscanada #goodbookstoread #romancenovels #romancereader #torontoreader #bookstagram #readingromance #bookreview #tbr #readeveryday #bookaddict #whattoreadnext #readersofinstagram #booksofig #bookstafam #romancestagram #bookishcanadians #christinalauren #darkwildnight

Dirty Rowdy Thing by @christinalauren 🇨🇦 And boy does this book live up to the title!

This book not only had the dirtiest sex scenes ever but also had such a great storyline. Christina Lauren do such a great job of creating a story with substance, emotion, lovable complex characters as well as ALL THE RAUNCHINESS. I absolutely loved this one.

Following the first in this series, Sweet Filthy Boy, where 3 girls and 3 guys met and got married in Vegas, we’re now catching up with unlikely couple Harlow and Finn. Harlow is a Cali girl who is always down for fun, and Finn is a rugged Canadian fisherman who takes things a bit more seriously. Finn is in Cali to see his friends and for a business offer, and Harlow is forced to see him for a few weeks. She quickly realizes he could be the perfect distraction from all the seriousness going on in her life but soon enough this distraction becomes more like an obsession…

I’m giving this one a 9/10 for hot Canadian fisherman🔥

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton 💕 I may have been embarrassed to hold up a cover that says Wallbanger on holiday, but it was worth it.

This one was surprisingly such a slooooow burn. You’d think with a title like Wallbanger it would be straight to the steam but it was actually SO romantic. The humour was a bit silly at times, and Caroline was way too dramatic for me but Simon is such a great character and I liked the story. An easy beach read, I’m giving this one a 7/10 🏝

Do the books you read ever remind you of a song? 🎵

⭐️9.5/10 I loved this story, the small town Tennessee setting, the bearded red head with an attitude, childhood friends / enemies to lovers, lifelong pining? The best combination!!

When I started this book I’d just heard the song Kinfolks by Sam Hunt the same day and it was so fitting I now think of Duane and Jessica when I hear the song.

The Winston family is adorable, all the brothers’ personalities were fun to read, especially Cletus’ eccentric humour, I was laughing out loud at just about everything he said.

Duane’s broody attitude begins to thaw around Jessica and it’s such a romantic notion that he sees her as his one and only and his harsh exterior is simply out of self preservation. There was a great amount of steam in this one too, and right from the get go!

I waited 5 weeks for this book and it did not disappoint, I’ve already placed a hold on the rest of the series via the Libby app and the @torontolibrary