Read a Romance Month Roundup!

Did you know that August is Read a Romance Month? If not, now you do! And luckily, we're definitely in the mood to celebrate -- anyone who knows us knows that romance novels are some of our favorite to read. So without further ado, here's a roundup of some fantastic, romantic reads that we've been loving lately or looking forward to reading!

                             

So those are some romance books that we've been loving lately and wanted to recommend to you for Read a Romance Month! Do you agree with our recommendations? Have some of your own that we forgot? Comment down below and let us know! 

Happy Read a Romance Month to all -- here's to enjoying some sweet reads, swoons, and heartwarming happily ever afters!

 

Review: The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Title: The Roommate
Author: Rosie Danan
Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Paperback, 336 Pages
Published September 2020

Summary: The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true. After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet... Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too. 

I first heard of this book because so many of our blogging friends were talking about it, and I was immediately intrigued. I didn't even know much about the book at first -- I just knew that they were all raving that it was the latest rom-com that was making them all swoon. Our good friend Chloe at The Elven Warrior even described it as "eyeball-meltingly sexy," so I obviously knew I needed to pick it up. Needless to say, I ended up absolutely adoring this book just as much as my other friends did. So without further ado, let's get into my review! Just as a warning, there are some minor spoilers sprinkled throughout, but I marked all of the major ones.

As the summary explains, Clara flies all the way from the East Coast to Hollywood on a whim to chase the man that she always thought she was meant to be with. But when she finally gets there, it turns out that he's actually heading on tour with his mediocre band, so Clara is left sharing his house with the man that he rented it out to. But what she comes to learn is that this random guy has an interesting backstory -- one that could completely decimate Clara's social standing in all of her upper-society socialite circles back home. But spending time with Josh may also unlock parts of Clara that she hadn't ever given much thought to...and together, her and Josh decide to set out on a mission to ensure that women everywhere find themselves having better and more meaningful sex.

I absolutely *loved* this book. As I mentioned, when I first picked it up, I didn't know much about the summary itself. I had a hunch that romantic feelings were going to stir up between Josh and Clara, but I did not expect Josh to be an actual porn star. So as soon as I found that out, I was floored -- and immediately interested. This book made me feel everything -- I laughed, gasped, cried, swooned, and even groaned internally when the characters were letting their inner thoughts get in the way of ~*true love*~. But through it all, it's safe to say that I was addicted and couldn't put this book down. It was seriously such a delight.

A really important aspect of this book that I really appreciated was the way it centers around women not being ashamed when it comes to wanting to seek pleasure, and their partners feeling confident and secure enough to actively invest in learning how to give it to them. Clara starts out like many women -- ashamed and embarrassed by sex, unsure of how to ask for what they want -- or even what to ask for -- and the idea of living with a porn star just seems like a disaster scenario. But over time, she learns through several methods (heh) that there is no shame in sex, nor in enjoying it, and it doesn't have to be a taboo topic that people are afraid to talk about, and women's pleasure shouldn't be this big mystery that nobody has the map to. This is such an incredibly sex-positive book, and I loved every second of reading it and seeing those ideas shaped in the story! 

(Spoilers in this paragraph -- skip to the next one to avoid them!) I thought the ending of the book was incredibly sweet and it made my heart flutter all over the place. Especially that epilogue -- finding out that they're engaged truly satisfied my hopeless romantic heart. And it was really sweet (and yes, sexy) to see how Josh and Clara both learned to come to terms with what they wanted for themselves and they then didn't feel apologetic about it. This book definitely gave me one of the most satisfying happily ever afters that I've ever read, and I adored it.

Overall, I absolutely loved THE ROOMMATE and I will absolutely be recommending it to any and all friends (including you!) who are looking for a, yes, definitely eyeball-meltingly sexy read that champions women feeling confident in their bodies and learning to love themselves as well as their partners learning how to love them as well. This was such a swoon-worthy, hilarious, sex-positive book, and if it isn't on your TBR already, then I think that it definitely should be! 

Review: Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Title: Love and Other Words
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Paperback, 403 Pages
Published April 2018

Summary: Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away. But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her. Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

I've been a big fan of Christina Lauren ever since I picked up THE UNHONEYMOONERS and loved it (you can read my review here!), and then immediately made it my goal to read their entire backlist. So when I decided to pick up one of their earlier works, LOVE AND OTHER WORDS, I had several friends immediately telling me to get the tissues ready, because this was going to be an emotional one. Let me tell you -- they were all completely right. And now I need to buy more tissues. So without further ado, let's get onto the review!

As the summary explains, this story is told through a dual-timeline, past and present, following Macy, who moves into the summer house next door to Elliot, a boy her age. Throughout the years, you get to watch Macy and Elliot grow from strangers to friends to companions to first loves, and in the present-day, you see Macy struggling in a relationship that she isn't satisfied with, with hints that something terrible happened in her and Elliot's past to break them apart. Throughout the story, you get to see present-day Macy and Elliot solve their problems while also learning about what shattered their world in the first place.

I really, really liked this book. I really liked the idea of having two totally different linear narrative that intertwined with each other, especially when I would be reading scenes from the present that would suddenly make sense in the past because of the clues that the reader was given. It was a really fascinating experience to see young Macy and adult Macy side by side, as well as young and adult Elliot. As the book continues, I found it hard to put it down as I was constantly drawn into the drama that kept unfolding between the characters in the present day as the drama in their past becomes more and more revealed. It made for a really great read!

My favorite character in this book was definitely Elliot. As always, a book that features characters that are avid readers is always something that I really love.  The way he loved to spend his summer afternoons just sitting side by side with Macy reading really warmed my heart, and I just thought that he was so hopelessly dorky and hilarious and sweet and cute, and I just loved seeing him on the page. I also love how open and honest he always is about everything, all of the time. I feel like I really connected with him as a reader! 

(MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH -- SKIP TO THE NEXT ONE TO AVOID THEM!) Let me just tell you, by the time I got to the end of the book, I was flying through every single page because I just had to know what was going to happen next. I knew that her dad died, and she hinted that it was something tragic, but I had no idea that it was a) due to a really horrific car accident, and b) that it happened LESS THAN 24 HOURS after Macy and Elliot fell apart. I think that the way that reveal was teased throughout the book was brilliant, with subtle mentionings that give you a hint that something is amiss, but the full story really hits you like a tidal wave when you finally figure it out.

(More spoilers -- go to the next paragraph!) The only thing I wasn't super excited about was the fact that it felt like several story lines were left unfinished by the time I got to the end of the book. I wondered what happened with Sean, like I knew they broke up but it kind of just fizzled out, and Sabrina -- did she end up telling her about her and Elliot's reunion? And isn't the moving in together thing happening a little too fast? Don't get me wrong -- I'm a huge hopeless romantic, so I absolutely loved it, but after putting the book down for a little bit and thinking on it more, I'm kind of wondering if maybe things happened a little too quickly. But that's just me! Like I said, I really enjoyed reading this book and thought it was brilliantly done, and that twist at the ending really took my breath away and brought a few tears to my eyes. I'm so glad they got their happy ending, even with all of the bumps along the way.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading LOVE AND OTHER WORDS. If you're looking for a sweet, adorable, yet also super tear-jerking read, then I'd definitely recommend picking this up. As I make my way through the rest of Christina Lauren's backlist, I think it's safe to say that this book was one of my favorites.

Review: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

Title: Fix Her Up
Author: Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Avon

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Paperback, 400 Pages
Published June 2019

Summary: After an injury ends Travis Ford’s major league baseball career, he returns home to start over. He just wants to hammer out his frustrations at his new construction gig and forget all about his glory days. But he can’t even walk through town without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his buddy’s little sister, who is definitely not a kid anymore. Georgette Castle has crushed on her older brother’s best friend for years. The grumpy, bear of a man working for her family’s house flipping business is a far cry from the charming sports star she used to know. But a moody scowl doesn’t scare her and Georgie’s determined to show Travis he’s more than a pretty face and a batting average, even if it means putting her feelings aside to be “just friends.” Travis wants to brood in peace. But the girl he used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman who makes him feel whole again. And he wants her. So damn bad. Except Georgie’s off limits and he knows he can’t give her what she deserves. But she’s becoming the air he breathes and Travis can’t stay away, no matter how hard he tries...

I finally jumped on the train of wanting to read this book after the nine hundredth person in my Twitter feed mentioned loving it. Plus, I felt like I was in a little bit of a rut reading-wise right after my college graduation, since things were all sad and done virtually and just didn't feel right. So I decided to cheer myself up by ordering some books from my local indie, and obviously FIX HER UP was one of my choices. It came highly recommended from several bloggers and friends, and the summary made it sound like a book that was right up my alley, so I decided to go for it. Once it came, I originally intended to add it to the end of my TBR since I have a whole bunch of ARCs that I needed to get through, but something about having a swoon-worthy summer rom-com in my hands right at the start of the sunny season called out to me, so I skipped ahead and dove right into this one. And let me tell you guys, it CERTAINLY did not disappoint!

As the summary explains, Travis is an ex-baseball player whose career goes down in flames due to an injury, and he finds himself having to return to his hometown with his tail between his legs. But Georgie, the younger sister of his longtime best friend, refuses to let Travis wallow, and insists on helping him get back to his old self. Through a complicated series of twists and turns, the pair agree to fake-date for the cameras as a way of bringing Travis back into the family-friendly light and also for Georgie to finally be taken more seriously by her family. But what they're not expecting is for their fake feelings to turn real...and for the expiration date on their scheme to start haunting them.

This book was actually like an addiction to me. I had so many things that I needed to be getting done for writing my own book, and working out, and just generally staying a productive human being even while I was locked at home, but I decided to push all of those things to the side and curl up with this book. Georgie and Travis's story was equal parts tense, hilarious, and swoon-worthy. It was also really cool to see a book set on Long Island, since that's where all three of us grew up, so recognizing town names and the island's culture was just a neat little easter egg that kept me smiling. I tore through this book, reading almost 200 pages in a single sitting just because I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. Their relationship and all of the antics that they get into is just so fascinating, and the chapters are short enough to keep you drawn in and wanting more.

Also, I'm going to level with you guys -- this book is NOT for the faint of heart! You will swoon, you will blush, and you will probably want a glass of water after several scenes. If you're more of the "I'd rather have the romance be more of the fade-to-black" type, then this book definitely isn't for you. But I was absolutely LIVING for it. Georgie and Travis's chemistry leaps right off the page and gets right into the reader's heart, and some scenes are so intense that you'll be sweating and fanning yourself after...trust me. 10/10 in the romance novel department, that's for sure. Tessa Bailey has signed me on as a reader for LIFE.

(MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH! Skip to the next one to avoid them!) The ending of this book absolutely melted my heart in all of the best ways, and it definitely left me a little swooning puddle on the floor. That on-air proposal?! Meeting each other on the Northern State?! The whole thing just had me swooning and sighing of happiness. It's perfect rom-com material, and if you're a romance junkie, then you absolutely need to pick up this book. The chemistry is seriously OFF THE CHARTS and the sweet moments mixed with the swoon-worthy are just...*chef's kiss* pure perfection.

Overall, I absolutely LOVED FIX HER UP and will absolutely be reading the other books in the series. In fact, I think as soon as I get my next paycheck, I might go order them both, because I want to know what happens with Rosie and Bethany as well! If you're a romance fan -- particularly a Christina Lauren fan, since this book gave me major CLo vibes -- and you haven't picked this book up yet, well then let me tell you that you're severely missing out!