Drifting Dawn by Samantha Young Review & Release Blitz!

 

Book overview:

After eighteen years, I’ve come home to the Scottish island of my childhood. It’s the place I vowed I wouldn’t return to so I never again had to see the man who broke my heart into a million pieces.

Yet family has inevitably brought me back, and avoiding my ex, Quinn McQuarrie, is proving impossible when he insists on digging up the past every time we meet.

Quinn is now a single dad, the local contractor, and the person the entire town is rooting for to get his happily ever after. The problem is, he wants me to be his HEA, and I just want to move on. When Quinn sees my plans to save the town’s volunteer lifeboat service as an opportunity to work together, I’m stuck with him. And, unfortunately, I soon realize there’s no denying that the chemistry we share has only grown more intense with the passing of time.

I know Quinn wants more than just a physical relationship, but it’s all I can promise with so much hurt and distrust between us.

However, when strange disturbances escalate to harassment, our lives are turned upside down, and Quinn proves he will do anything in his power to protect me. Even if it means losing each other before we ever get our second chance…

Review:

You know what? I always look forward to the newest Samantha Young book because I know it is going to be a story I can completely get sucked in to starring characters I can’t help but to fall in love with. Drifting Dawn lived up to exactly what I had hoped and dreamed it would be. I fell in love with this little small town island vibe during the first book of this series, Half-Light Harbor starring Tierney and Ramsay but I knew, I KNEW Quinn was going to give me more to love. He did not disappoint. Ugh, I felt the disappointment and devastation of making stupid mistakes when you’re a kid who doesn’t know any better. I felt the yearning of wanting what you’d always hoped your life would end up being. I felt the tight knit community and family feel of this little island. I felt it all and loved it all. I loved Quinn & Taran’s story. I loved getting to stay connected to Tierney & Ramsay. I love the little moments setting us up for London and Murray (can that happen tomorrow, please?!) I just loved it all. Thank you Samantha for another wonderful story set in your beautiful country with the best fictional characters. I cannot wait to read anything and everything that comes next. 

Isle of Wrath by Claire Contreras Review & Release Blitz!

 

Synopsis:

A forgotten prophecy.

A 300-year-old curse.

And two people bound by a goddess to break it… if the bond doesn’t break them first.

In Lunaris, everyone trades their memories for asylum. No one remembers their past, their homeland, or the curse that trapped them behind a wall of darkness called the Shroud. But they don’t dare break the rules set upon them.

Ada Acevedo has spent years hiding her healing gift and keeping her head down.

But when her twin brother is struck by a poisoned arrow, she breaks the most dangerous rule of all. She bargains with the goddess of death to save his life.

She didn’t expect the goddess to send Malachi Bain—an infuriating warrior—to collect. Much less to be soul-bound to him until she repays what she owes. Now Ada has no choice but to help him do the impossible: lift the Shroud and break the curse that’s kept Lunaris hidden from the rest of the realm for three hundred years.

As she’s pulled deeper into a world of forbidden prophecies and buried secrets, Ada discovers a devastating truth. Lunaris isn’t the paradise she always thought it was. It’s a cage. And on the other side, a monster is lurking—waiting for the Shroud to fall.

Waiting for her.

Review:

I totally should’ve expected that cliffhanger but I did not and now I’m going to need fall to hurry up and arrive so I can read book 2! 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story!! This was a new path for Claire Contreras, but I’m here for it! I’ve always loved her contemporary romance stories and was thrilled to hear she was writing a romantasy. I feel like the story was very well done and it is the same amazing level of character development I’ve come to expect in every CV story. I know that I will always be attached, always feel strongly about whatever characters she creates, and this book was no different!! I do feel like the world building and large amount of different characters (gods, goddesses, sages, council, differing kingdoms, etc) was a little confusing and maybe a little overwhelming but I still feel like I got and remembered the majority of it as I was reading! I felt like the storyline in general though was exciting, I loved the main characters, and could easily imagine sitting with them all at Siren’s Call. Ada sounds like a fierce fighter for those she loves and she is perfectly matched with her bonded mate. I cannot wait to see what becomes of the two of them but I am hoping they can get through whatever hoops they have to to have a good life together! Also, Kage’s one liners might be my favorite part of this book and him baiting Malachi made me laugh out loud. Anyway, highly recommend you take the chance on this book and learn all there is to find out about this incredible story!

On the Brink of Bliss by A.L. Jackson Review & Release Blitz!

 On the Brink of Bliss by A.L. Jackson is now live!

A sizzling single mom, fake marriage, heroine in danger romance from New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, A.L. Jackson

The last thing I expected when I found the trespasser bathing in my river was for it to be her…

Daisy Adair has always been my dream girl. From when we were best friends in high school to finding her now.

A gorgeous mother who shows up on my property with three kids in tow.

But I became a recluse for a reason.

The life I chose is full of wickedness and peril. The last thing I need is the object of my every fantasy invading my space and risking her life because of me. 

Only when she tells me she’s on the run from her ex, I promise to do anything to keep them safe, even marry her to protect her kids. 

That single kiss at the altar rips through every barrier, our passion unleashed.

Now, living under the same roof blurs the lines I’ve drawn.

Each glance of her down the hall and I am splintering.

Each brush of her hand and I am brought to my knees.

Our future—bright, hopeful, and almost within reach—hovers on the edge of becoming real…

Until we discover the threat surrounding her is grimmer than either of us imagined.

Now I’m fighting to save her and her children before our second chance at forever is burned to the ground…

Review:

Man oh man am I a sucker for a broken man who finds the girl who might help him heal 🥵

Cash freaking Cunningham. The man who has eluded all of the Moonlit Ridge faithfuls for the entirety of this series. I have been so curious about him and his story from book ONE. He’s always been so elusive, so self isolated, so shrouded in mystery and disdain for any of his brothers who may have found their happily ever after through hell or high water. I was SO ready to see him succumb to some feelings and I knew it was going to have to be a very special girl to do it. 

Enter, Daisy. She’s so freaking cute and pure and the sweetest girl to melt Cash’s seemingly cold heart. She stumbles over her words, her feet, her thoughts, but there are a few things she’s absolutely sure of: she loves her children fiercely and she implicitly trusts Cash to protect them. She learns of Cash’s complicated calling and it doesn’t phase her a bit because she knows his heart is good and his intentions are pure. 

I honestly usually have a favorite in a book or especially even a series, but this series that is so hard to do. I honestly don’t even think I can pick a boy or girl character who’s my favorite. There are things about each main character individual in each of these stories that resonant with me and speak to my soul!  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Moonlit Ridge with this perfectly imperfect family and I am sad to see it go, but relieved to know we’ll still get glimpses of them in the next series. I’m also going to hold out hope for a next generation series of all of these Moonlit Ridge babies because AMY- you can sure write up a little kid I can’t help but adore!! Nolan, Maci, Finn, Addy, Colin, and freaking adorable Eva- I can’t. I love them all. This series will truly stay with me for a while. Thank you for creating this wonderful fictional world, Amy!

Download today or read for FREE with #kindleunlimited

Amazon: https://geni.us/OTBOBAmznOP

Also available in audio!

Narrated by: @seanmastersaudio & @ms_brentmoor

Listen today: https://geni.us/OTBOBAudio

Enter the release day giveaway!

https://geni.us/OTBOBRlsGvwy

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Hart Street Lane by Samantha Young Review & Release Blitz!

 

TITLE: HART STREET LANE (RETURN TO DUBLIN STREET #3)

RELEASE DATE: JAN 15, 2026 

UNIVERSAL LINK: https://geni.us/hartstreetlane

TROPES: sports romance, soccer romance, fake engagement, friends to lovers, forced 

proximity, Scottish hero.

BLURB: 

A steamy fake engagement from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.

Faking it has never been so hard…

Breaking up with my fiancé wasn’t on my agenda this summer, neither was hiding the truth 

from everyone, including my colleagues at Pennington’s department store. But that tiny 

evasion gets me into trouble when I’m forced to play bride-to-be for our new marketing 

campaign. If my boss finds out I’ve lied to her, it won’t just be my reputation on the line; it’ll 

be my job. 

Enter my new bestie, Baird McMillan. Professional goalkeeper, professional heartbreaker, 

and now my professional fake fiancé. Baird’s public escapades have gotten him on the 

wrong side of his football club’s new owner, and he needs to prove he’s settling down. A 

fake engagement is a win-win for us both.

There’s just one problem. It turns out there’s nothing fake about the explosive connection 

Baird and I share.

I may not have been looking for love, but every moment with Baird tempts me to reach for it. 

Yet just as I start to believe a future together could be a real possibility, our pasts come 

surging back with a vengeance. And with it, those who will do anything to destroy our chance at forever…

Review:

Baird freaking McMillan. I knew from early on in On Loverose Lane (book 1 in this series), Baird NEEDED his own book and I (& so many others) were so right!! Gah! His story was everything I hoped for and more! His character had so much depth for the typical footballer and his feelings for My were like no other! I could feel his love and passion for her through the pages. I knew he would win her heart just through his strong will and perseverance alone. He was SO confident from day 1 of meeting her that she was THE one for him and knew he just needed to convince her. The confidence he exudes in that, in his job, in his overall persona is just so attractive but also knowing he has his vulnerabilities and needing the reassurance only My can give him… be still my beating heart!! Honestly, I thought I loved Callan and countless others of Samantha Young’s fictional male characters but Baird is seriously going to be hard to beat. He truly seems like he’d be the perfect (fictional) partner- someone you can chill with, have fun with, dance with, be silly with, have passion with, count on, etc. And Maia is no different! She has her own struggles from her past but she loves hard and fast and with a vengeance for the right person, just like Baird. When she allows herself to let go and see what she truly wants and deserves, she could pick no better option. She has spent her life being completely selfless but insecure and now has someone who is willing to sacrifice it all for her and will go to the ends of the earth to make her see she is worth everything and more! Omg! I just loved this story. There are SO many twists and turns and you don’t know how it’ll all play out in the end but you definitely know how you hope it does. Overall, this was another incredible installment in the Return to Dublin Street series and I cannot wait for more!! Hoping for John’s story next! 🤞🏻

Beyond the Blue Horizon by A.L. Jackson Review & Release Blitz!

 

Beyond the Blue Horizon by A.L. Jackson is now live! I should have known I’d break the promise I made when I found her stranded in a blizzard… Feisty as hell and the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. With the cutest kid and her grandmother in tow, she’s completely off limits. I don't get involved with women like that. I learned long ago I don't have the ability to love. My life is sordid and danger is always hiding in the shadows. Only I can’t turn my back on them when I realize she’s in trouble, and I insist on them staying in a cabin at the motel I own. As penance for my sins, I promised my life to protecting others. Except she becomes so much more. A need I don’t recognize. A desperation that burns beneath my flesh. One kiss, and I’m falling for her.  One touch, and I’m at her feet. But when my dark past comes back to haunt me, I’m in a race against time to save the only woman I’ve ever loved. Only it may be the demons that have been chasing her that destroy what we built… Review: Amy always brings the angst and all the feels! Theo and Piper’s story brings all the emotions to the forefront reading their story and I was anxious to turn each page to feel every bit of it. Honestly, I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in the Moonlit Ridge series and this book was on par with all the others.  I love a redemptive love story. Both Theo and Piper have things in their past that won’t allow them to believe they deserve a happily ever after and to be able to change either of their minds would take an act of God, by way of irresistible soul mate. They both have walls sky high and the idea of anyone penetrating them is abhorrent to both of them. They have more similarities to each other than they even realize. One of my favorite similarities they have is they both have incredible families! Piper has her absolutely adorable owl loving, happy hearted 2 year old son Finn and her funny, loving, quippy grandmother, Nelly Belly. I love both of these characters and honestly loved any part of the book they were in. Finn will absolutely make you want to reach through the book and give him a great big hug! Theo’s family consists of his Sovereign Sanctum crew and each of their families we’ve already fallen in love with if you’ve read the previous books! Gah, this guys look and sound so rough and tough on the outside but their loyalty to their mission and the fierceness in the way they protect those they love is just… unmatched! I think because I’ve had a few books to get to know Theo before his story came it has made me champion him more and more for him to hopefully have his happy ending one day.  I’m so glad I read this book. It is SPICY but you can easily feel the passion between these characters. You can also easily feel all of their other emotions too. There is drama, suspense, sadness, excitement and joy. This story will stay with me for a while! Although, now that I’ve gotten to read Theo’s story and loved it, I already have Cash on my mind and my hopes set high for him! Can’t wait for the next book! Download today or read for FREE with #kindleunlimited Amazon: https://geni.us/BTBHAmznOP Also available in audio! Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton & Kit Swann Listen today: https://geni.us/BTBHAudioOP Enter the release day giveaway! https://geni.us/BTBHRlsGvwy  Goodreads: https://geni.us/BTBHGoodreads  Tropes: 💙 Single mom⁠ 🪵 Motel shenanigans⁠ 💙 Heroine in hiding⁠ 🪵 Hate to love⁠ 💙 He falls first⁠ 🪵 Touch her and ☠️⁠ 💙 Band of brothers⁠ 🪵 Morally grey hero⁠ 💙 Secret society⁠ 🪵 Small town

The Homemaker by Jewel E Ann Review & Release Blitz!

 The Homemaker by Jewel E. Ann is now live!

A romance inspired by TS “Fortnight”

I was hers, but she was never mine.

Alice Yates is the hired “homemaker” for the Morrisons, an affluent couple in Minneapolis. For Alice, it’s a dream job to dress up like a 1950s housewife and read romance novels to Mr. Morrison before his afternoon nap.

But when the Morrisons’ only daughter returns home for the summer with her fiancé, Alice comes face- to-face with her shattered past—the only threat to her perfect life.

Eight years earlier, vacation rental owner Murphy Paddon had an impeccable vinyl record collection and did the most irresistible thing before kissing Alice, earning him a five-star rating. Their fortnight love affair was life-altering and ended tragically.

Murphy doesn’t know if Alice remembers him or whether he should tell his fiancée that the hired-help living in the guesthouse is the woman who irreparably broke his heart. He needs closure, but will the lingering glances and silent yearning lead to the end or just the beginning?

Grab your copy of The Homemaker, from USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Jewel E. Ann, and lose yourself in this forbidden, high-stakes romance.

Review:

What a journey this book takes you on! I could not put this book down because I just needed to know how it was all going to play out, especially for our favorite homemaker. I’ll admit, I went into this book completely sold on the book cover and title alone and I’m so glad I did! It did not end up being anything like I expected and I love that. I should’ve known better to have any expectation of what the story would be because Jewel E Ann always leaves me guessing and on the edge of my seat to see which twists and turns her characters are going to fall down. She is such a talented writer that I know I’m going to love her stories no matter what they end up being about. I do have to mention though, I felt morally convicted throughout this book and that is not always my favorite thing to feel when reading is supposed to be a light hearted, stress relieving hobby for me. There’s a trope in this book that I don’t love and don’t often read because it’s not something I enjoy. However, in the case of these characters, I could really feel the struggle of their emotions and related to that in a way I usually don’t. These characters are so complex and you want to see this story end in a good way for them all but throughout the book are convinced there is no way that could ever happen. It’s a journey, I tell you!! Overall, I am happy with the way the story ended but I still find myself cautiously happy because I’m not sure I like the way we got here. However, this is a story that will stick with me and something I am so glad I read! Thank you for another new incredible story Jewel E Ann and I am SO curious what/who the next book in this series is going to be about!! 

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3UPLWuG

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/S26fj 

Audible: http://bit.ly/4nu17pZ

Narrated by Charlotte North & Robert Hatchet

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/457iBC

A Royal Mile by Samantha Young review & release blitz!

So excited about Samantha Young’s newest release, A Royal Mile! Look below for a book description and review!

Book description:

A steamy enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.

It’s hard to stay in the friend zone when the attraction is this hot…

Going into my senior year of university at war with a member of the British royal family wasn’t in my carefully laid plans. Sebastian Thorne might be the grandson of a princess, but it’ll take more than a royal pardon to get me to forgive him for pretending to be someone he’s not.

But Sebastian is determined to be my friend. Even if it means signing up to a psych experiment just to get me to talk to him. Who knew a sincere apology and him saying my name in that posh English accent would make me weak in the knees?

This year was supposed to be about my dissertation and graduate school. Only, Sebastian has thrown my ordered world off kilter. He makes me bolder, more confident. A braver version of me. 

Yet every lingering glance and stolen touch has me realizing one thing…

I’m falling for my best friend. 

There’s just one problem. Sebastian has demons, ones that make him determined to keep me in the friend zone no matter the cost. 

And even when temptation sends his walls tumbling down, the beauty we’ve found might not survive against the powerful will of outside forces…

Review:

Y’all. This Southern girl wishes she were Scottish every single time I finish a Samantha Young book. Not only is she just a phenomenal storyteller, she just has this uncanny ability to paint scenes so vividly it is easy to see the picture in your mind and imagine you are right there with the characters, witnessing the story in real time. Edinburgh has definitely jumped to the top of my bucket list on places to go.

While that definitely has to do with the beautiful Scotland scenery painted so well by Ms. Young, it also probably has to do with two new fictional characters I’ve fallen in love with 😂 

I can honestly say I don’t know if I’ve read a female lead character I can relate to more than Lily. For example: my master’s degree is very similar to what Lily’s professional goals for herself are, I’ve been chronically cheated on by jerks in my past, have struggled horribly with self esteem issues and having any confidence. One big thing we share though (thankfully) is an incredible man in our lives who lift us up and tell us we are beautiful when we feel anything but. So, to say I have over identified with this story may not be a stretch LOL. However, I think that makes me love it even more! I love the journey Lily goes through just with herself through this book. She learns to love herself more and more through this book, with the encouragement of her friends, especially Sebastian. 

Speaking of Sebastian… what a dreamboat. He’s the biggest commitment phobe in the world, but I also understand his reasons or more specifically why they make sense to him. He seems like the most solid, comforting, encouraging person you could be lucky enough to have in your life. When he loves, friends or family, he loves hard. He wants others to be happy even at the expense of himself.

Throughout the book you’re left to wonder how things will end with these two characters. Will they or won’t they? Can they allow themselves to get through their own issues to find what their hearts really desire? Even if they do, will they end up self sabotaging everything? Ah, the last half of this book especially was such a page turner. I couldn’t wait for every chance I had to read more. Thank you to Samantha Young for this wonderful book and I cannot wait to read more in this series. Please let Baird’s story be next!