Sunday, April 20, 2025

Sunday Post, No. 5

Sunday Post is a weekly blog meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and is a place to share weekly goings on. I'd love to share my week with you!

Happy Easter, friends! I hope you're having a nice day with your friends and family. I'm going to spend the day with my husband and we're going to a friend's house for dinner. 

This week has been a big one for me. I finished my novel this week. Next week I'll read it and see where I'm at, then do some edits before I let my friends and husband read it. After that, more edits, and then maybe I'll publish. So this has been a pretty exciting week for me. It's also been a little overwhelming because edits are a lot and I know I have that coming up on the horizon and, I won't lie, I'm a little bit nervous. 

I'm also finishing up the spring semester for my college courses and I'll have grades to submit for my students soon. I'm excited to have some time off in the summer to work on my own projects. 

What I'm reading this week

I'm still trying to find time to get through Pumpkin Spice Cafe, but I'm also reading Falling on a Duke, which I got from NetGalley and so far, it's really cute!

19th-century England. Benjamin Gerard Waldorf, the Duke of Waldorf, has resigned himself to a life of duty and responsibility. But when an antique cameo unexpectedly transports him 200 years into the future, his world is turned upside down.Isabella Souza Kato, a struggling writer in London, is grappling with creative block after a painful breakup. Just as she’s ready to give up on love, a chance encounter with a man claiming to be from the 1800s alters her life completely.

As they navigate the complexities of time, culture, and their own hearts, Benjamin and Isabella must confront their fears and insecurities if they want to find a future together.

Will Benjamin find a way back to his rightful place, or will he choose to forge a new path with Isabella?

On the blog this week

🐎 Review: Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage

🐴 Release Day: Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage

✨ Can't-Wait Wednesday: A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

📚 Free Kindle Finds, No. 4

In the mail this week

I got several books in the mail this week. A huge book haul from Book Outlet (my new obsession) and my pre-order of Wild and Wrangled. Its been a good week for books. Ooh, and I also got one of those round, rotating viral bookshelves from FlyCity Mall and I absolutely love it! 

That's it for me this week. I hope you've all had a lovely week and that you have a happy Easter Sunday! 



Thursday, April 17, 2025

Free Kindle Finds, No. 4

I'm back with another free Kindle fine and this time, I have two for you. As always, these books are only free for a limited time, but both of them are also on Kindle Unlimited. 

Come As You Are by Jess K Hardy is the first book in a series. It's a Gen X romance, so the characters are a little older, which really appeals to me as I get older and because I'm a member of Gen X. 

Ashley Cooke will do just about anything to save her struggling ski hill. When she hires the men from a local sober living home for the season to cut costs, even she thinks she’s gone too far. With her credit cards maxed, her cheating ex-husband intent on buying the mountain out from under her, and record-breaking snow in the forecast, she can’t afford to be distracted by the six-foot-tall bearded and tattooed sober living home owner moving onto her mountain.

Recovering addict and ex-grunge rocker Matthew Madigan has devoted every minute of the last decade to the men residing at his sober living home. When he meets tightly wound and adorably flustered Ashley, desires he’s put on the back burner for years start to simmer. Immune to his infamous, albeit rusty charm, Ashley presents a challenge he can’t resist. When she offers to give him skiing lessons in exchange for his help training her St. Bernard rescue dog, he jumps at the chance to ride next to her on the chairlift despite his debilitating fear of heights.

During bunny hill shenanigans, chairlift confessions, and steamy cabin serenades, Madigan teaches Ashley that a person’s past doesn’t define them, and Ashley shows Madigan that the men he helps aren’t the only people who deserve a second chance. When sabotage threatens both the men and the mountain, Ashley and Madigan will have to decide if they’re only having a winter fling, or if the mountain isn’t the only thing worth fighting for.

Any Luck at All from Angela Casella and Denise Grover Swank is also part of a series, but is a standalone romance with an HEA. 

She might be wishing for the wrong kind of luck.

***Standalone romance with a HEA!***


Georgie Buchanan doesn’t know the first thing about running a brewery—she doesn’t even like beer—so she’s out of her element when she and her siblings inherit their grandfather’s money pit. Her one hope for success lies with River Reeves, the handsome brewmaster who learned at her grandfather’s feet...if she can avoid falling for him.

River Reeves is having a rough week. Not only did he lose his friend and mentor, Beau Buchanan, but he’s just been betrayed by his former best friend and business partner. Still, things seem to improve when Georgie offers him his dream job—turning around Buchanan Brewery.

Great right? There’s one problem: his new boss is his dream woman, and she’s not the type to mix business and pleasure.

Both of these books are so cute and look to have really fun stories. I hope you enjoy them if you should happen to pick them up like I did! 


 

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Can't-Wait Wednesday: A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Wishful Endings and spotlights books we're excited for but haven't read yet.

This week's Can't-Wait book is A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. This book looks adorable. Just look at this cute cover! 

Synopsis
Release Date: July 15, 2025

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…

Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone...and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

I'm on a cozy romance kick right now, so this book charming book looks like it's right up my alley. I'm looking forward to picking this one up when it's out in July! So what about you? Does this look like something you'd read? 


 

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Release Day: Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage

It's Wild and Wrangled release day. Happy Release day to Lyla Sage!! 🎉 I am dying to read (or listen to) this one. I'm also a little sad that it's the last book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series. Let's go Cam and Dusty!


Monday, April 14, 2025

Review: Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage

Lost and Lassoed

Author: Lyla Sage
Genre: Romance
Format: Audio, Paperback, Kindle
Kindle Unlimited: No
Series: Rebel Blue Ranch #3
Pages: 336 pages

Synopsis: {via Goodreads}

She thrives in chaos. He prefers routine. The only thing they have in common? How much they hate each other. From the author of Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, the highly anticipated next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, a small town romance featuring enemies to lovers and forced proximity.

Teddy Andersen doesn't have a plan. She's never needed one before. She's always been more of a go with the flow type of girl, but for some reason, the flow doesn't seem to be going her way this time. Her favorite vintage suede jacket has a hole in it, her sewing machine is broken, and her best friend just got engaged. Suddenly, everything feels like it's starting to change. Teddy's used to being a leader, but now she feels like she's getting left behind, wondering if the life she lives in the small town she loves is enough for her anymore.

Gus Ryder has a lot on his plate. He doesn't know what's taking care of his family's 8,000 acre ranch, or parenting his spunky six-year-old daughter, who is staying with him for the summer. Gus has always been the dependable one, but when his workload starts to overwhelm him, he slips up, and he has to admit that he can't manage everything on his own. He needs help. His little sister's best friend, the woman he can't stand, is not who he had in mind. But when no one else can step in, Teddy's the only option he's got. Teddy decides to use the summer to try and figure out what she wants out of life. Gus, on the other hand, starts to worry that he'll never find what he needs. Tempers flare, tension builds, and for the first time ever, Gus and Teddy start to see each other in a different light. As new feelings start to simmer below the surface, they must decide whether or not to act on them. Can they keep things cool? Or will both of them get burned?

Review:

I absolutely loved this book. No surprise, I loved both of the two book before it, so I listened to this one fully expecting that I'd love it too. Gus and Teddy are perfect and their story is filled with so much vulnerability, I adored them. Before we go on, take a second to check out my reviews for the first two books:


Okay! Let's get into Lost and Lassoed. Between the romantic relationship between Teddy and Gus, and the moments with their respective fathers, this book has so much heart. You really felt this one on a deeper level. If you read the first two books, you're already invested in the characters, so this book is a delight because it centers on characters you already love and feel for. 

🐎 Cowboys
💖 Enemies to lovers
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🏡 Small Town Romance
💛 Dyslexia rep
👥 Forced Proximity
🌹 Best friend's brother

The characters in this book are fantastic. Gus is a grumpy cowboy, but you learn through the story that he's got a big ol' squishy heart. Teddy is as sassy as they come, but she's also vulnerable behind all that sass. They come together to take care of Gus's little girl, Riley, and in the process they grow closer. They stop hating each other and start falling in love. I swooned, a lot

Like the ADHD rep in book 1 and the depression rep in book 2, this book's dyslexia rep really made me feel seen. I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was five years old, so Gus's struggle to read out loud really touched my heart because I know exactly how he feels. Sage touches on his dyslexia without dwelling on it and because of that it doesn't take anything away from the character. Likewise, Teddy's feelings about not being where she thinks she should be in her life are relatable. Her worries about her relationship with Emmy being different as they grow older are also, well, relatable. 

Something I really liked about this book is that even though the main plot is about Gus and Teddy, their respective relationships with the other characters in the book, like Luke, Emmy, Riley, and their fathers, are also pretty important to their growth as characters. The way each of them relate to the other characters allows them to grow and makes the plot full and vibrant. 

Rating:

❤❤❤❤❤/🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Perfect! I loved this book and highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys fun romance with a little dose of spice on the side.