Tag: romcom

Boss Witch (Review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

Boss Witch is book 2 in the Fix-It Witches series, and while I did not read the first book I was able to follow along with this one no problem. I appreciated a witchy book set during the summer.

A witch hunter has come to the small town and Clem (short for Clementine) takes it upon herself to distract him from her coven. 

Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of Clem throughout the book. And I guessed the big surprise twist at the end. 

I will add that, the synopsis of this book mentions a bi character (supposedly Clem) but I didn’t get that vibe at all. 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casa for the #gifted ebook.  

Romantic Friction (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

I expected Romantic Friction to be more of a romcom, but instead, it was a very 2025 book about publishing. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it (because it was an enjoyable read), but it will definitely feel dated in a few years.

The newest Instagram-famous author, Hartley West, is being called the next Sophie Wilde. But at a book signing in Sophie’s hometown, Hartley is called out as having written her debut book with AI and then independently publishing it.

The whole book was an interesting discussion on how much human intervention into gene text needs to happen before you can remove the “created by AI” label. As well as the successes and pitfalls between independent publishing and traditional publishing.

Overall, this was an interesting story. Definitely made me think more about generative AI use in creative fields. Thank you to Book Sparks for the paperback copy and thanks to Harlequin Audio and HTP Hive for the audiobook. I’m glad I listened to this as an audiobook, as I think I might have struggle bussed my way through the paperback.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

Pumpkin Spice Cafe was in the drawer of the nightstand at a resort I recently stayed at in Turks & Caicos, so I figured I’d read it while there. Especially since I’ve heard wonderful things about this series. 

It turned out to be the perfect beach read, despite the autumnal setting. 

This interconnected standalone features:

Grumpy x sunshine trope (my favorite)

Starting over

Trusting to love again

Small town 

Everyone knows your business

So basically, all my favorites. It’s a little spicy, with a hot make out session that made me stop and fan myself on the beach.

The Night Before Christmas (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

The Night Before Christmas by Nicola Knight had me at cute kittens. But the love triangle, friends-to-lovers, and the cute Christmas romcom kept me focused to the audiobook.

While this is a Christmas romcom, only the beginning and epilogue are actually Christmas, and the chapters in between are the days and weeks after the holiday. Those days and weeks that all blur together until New Years and then drag into the grey skies of January.

This was a sweet, fade-to-black romcom – thank goodness since I was listening to it as an audiobook in my car driving to work. It’s always awkward pulling into the parking garage with smut over the speakers.

Scot and Bothered (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

I really enjoyed Scot & Bothered. It was a little bit of adventure and hiking and a little Bir romance, with a side of writing and photography – so most of my favorite things.

There was a lot of great detail put into detailing Edinburgh, but I wish there had been more detail and world building put into describing the Isle of Skye trail.

You know the story is good when the reader wants to know more, and I found myself googling photos and videos from the actual Isle of Skye trail – like the Bad Step. Unfortunately, the richness of the landscape that I got from the videos and pictures was definitely not represented in the book. I wanted more from the portions on the trail.

This is a second chance romance that I didn’t hate – although I don’t think we needed the third act break up in this one. Also, only one tent (and that situation, definitely made me laugh.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Canary Street Press for the review copy!

Deja Brew (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

I was really looking forward to Deja Brew by Celestine Martin. I really enjoyed Watchful Thinking, the first in the Elemental Love series of stand-alones. In Deja Brew, Sirena is a kitchen witch whose powers are on the fritz. This was a super slow burn between Sirena and Gus.

I listened to Deja Brew as an audiobook and found this one to be just okay – definitely not one of my top reads of 2024, but a cute witchy read with lots of fall vibes.

Thank you to @hachettebooks and @netgalley for the audiobook copy.

Meet You in the Middle (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

I’ve had Meet You in the Middle on my TBR for so long, and it felt like the right time to read it. I was looking for a sweet romcom, something during this political season that could help me think that maybe, just maybe things would be okay. That people might come together to do the right thing.

Well that hope didn’t work, but the book is adorable. 

Enemies to lovers – he works for a Republican senator, she works for a Democrat. He’s everything she’s against and she doesn’t date “the enemy.”

Oh. My. Gosh. I could not put this down, it was so cute. And I loved the message that we are more than what the Party’s Politics are. We’re all nuanced – and love can happen to anyone. 

Oh, and the banter. I loved all the witty banter. 

Read this for:

—Enemies to Lovers

—He falls first (and harder)

—Banter!

—Good politics

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf sounded adorable, and for the first half of the audiobook I was enjoying the platonic relationship between Cassie and Seth. That said, I did find it odd how much Cassie was still harboring hurt feelings from high school when she’s nearing 30.

I enjoyed the two of them testing Cassie’s powers, trying out potions and spells together, and trying to rebuild their friendship. All good things.

But then the mating bond storyline was thrown into the plot and that’s what the second half of the book became all about. Smut, but and more smut, and I feel like the plot from the first half of the book was lost somewhere.

After being so withdrawn and unsure about giving her trust back to Seth as a friend, the fact that she went full throttle into the mating bond, 0 to 70,000, I had a little bit of a hard time with, too.

That said, the steamy scenes are well done – and made it awkward to drive in town with my windows down.

There’s also a sentient microwave and a raccoon familiar, who were both absolute scene stealers!

Vampires Never Say Die (review)

by Leann Pettit, posted in Book Reviews

“You slay me you know. Absolutely slay me.”

This time of year I reach for everything paranormal and sweet – so Vampires Never Say Die, the second installment in Gloria Duke’s Slaying It series was my first go to. 

Carrie wakes up one morning a Vampire Slayer because her obnoxious colleague has gotten himself turned into a vampire. I really liked Carrie, and while I always anticipate authors to use the Buffy stereo-type, I’m glad Carrie was not Buffy. 

This is single POV, and I honestly wish this had been written in dual POV, because getting to know more about Nick and seeing his perspective would have added more depth to his character.

This definitely has some steam! But it’s still a fun read for this time of year and I absolutely enjoyed listening to the audiobook while commuting.