I've said it in many reviews before. Stalkers aren't sexy. I'm not saying they aren't ever fuckable (cough*Joe from You*cough), but generally, in romance novels, I have a no-stalker policy when it comes to heroes. HOWEVER...there have been exceptions over the course of my reading career. I call them my "sweet" stalkers. They were stalkers who still managed to capture MY heart while they were capturing the heroines' hearts.  So, if you ever found yourself watching You and thinking, man, I'd really like this guy...if only he wasn't so crazy, obsessed, and murder-y, then THIS is the list for you: 

I always check out "best of" lists when they pop up on social media. But when it comes to romance, I see a lot of the same names over and over again. That's not always a bad thing. A lot of those authors that always hit the lists are amazing. I've read romance a long time, though, and I've come across lots of incredible authors who don't pop up all the time on these lists, which I just find inexplicable! Do others not know how great these authors are??? So, with that in mind, here are just a few of the incredible romance authors I want to see on more best of lists going forward:  

One time, my husband and I both had a really terrible flu. He was every bit as sick as I was, but he still made sure I had the good blankets, and he even got up a few times to get me Gatorade unsolicited. To me, that was the height of true romance. (Almost as good as when he cleans the house unsolicited...but I digress...) So, when I saw this tweet from Sarah MacLean, I  couldn't smash the like button fast enough. One character taking care of another in romance novels NEVER fails to give me warm, squishy, swoon-y feelings. That made me scroll through my Kindle history and the interwebs (including this tweet and Fated Mates) to compile a list of some world-class sickbed/caretaker scenes in romance novels. This list also includes books with scenes where the heroine takes care of the sick hero (*chef's kiss*). Hope you enjoy these amazing reads on this fabulous #FridayReads: 

You'll notice that I didn't call this list a "best of". That was intentional. I'm not trying to claim that these books are any better than other ones that were released. "Better" and "best" are so subjective. What I can say, though, is that THESE books made the biggest impression on ME in 2021: 

This series was on my TBR list FOREVER. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for post-apocalypse reads while we had our own kind of apocalypse going on in the real world? I dunno. But for whatever reason, I kept bumping this series in order of reading other, lighter series. I'm glad I finally read it, though. It's...an adventure, that's for sure.  Here are the details:  

There was a trailer for a movie that came out yesterday. It's a movie called The Lost City, and in it, a hot romance novel cover model shows up to save an imperiled romance author from a dastardly villain. He proceeds to tell her he's certified in CPR, CrossFit, and...that he brought snacks. Frankly, he had me at "snacks." It made me think about all the great romance novel heroes who either cook for their love interests, or just go out of their way to make sure they're properly fed. In other words, today's book recommendations list is all about heroes who know that food = love. And without further ado, here they are:

I'll be honest. I wasn't a huge fan of the original Sex in the City. But I watched enough of it to form some opinions. First of all, Carrie was a crap friend and an even worse person. Aidan deserved better. Mr. Big and Carrie (both a couple of big fat cheaters) deserved each other (and I don't mean that as a compliment). Samantha was a better person and friend than she ever got credit for. And finally, Harry Goldenblatt was the best, kindest person on the show and he deserved THE WORLD. So, all that said, I went into the reboot, And Just Like That, with SUPER low expectations. What follows is everything I got out of the first 2 episodes. And just so you know, I'm dropping BIG spoilers (pun intended), so proceed at your own risk:     

There are few things more inspiring than romance heroines who have loved and lost--then found the strength to love again. Here are but a few of my favorite romance heroines who lost who they THOUGHT was the love of their life, only to find out that they still had a lot of love left to give (and receive): 

What's more romantic than a wedding? Romance novels with a wedding theme, of course! And here are some great ones that'll make you want to say "I do"...to one-clicking them, at least: 

Get 'em while they're cheap, folks. You know what to do:

So, Twitter put out a call for hot himbos, and I felt the need to put together a "best of" list. That's just how I roll.

Some of you might ask, what's a himbo? Well, a himbo is a sweet, cinnamon roll of a hero. He's basically a golden retriever in human form. Think Chris Evans and/or Chris Hemsworth. In my mind, a great himbo in romance meets at least 2 of these criteria: 

1. He's big, hot, and muscle-y
2. He's a nice guy. Sweet--never an alphahole. (That's not to say he can't be powerful. He's just not a dominating jerk.)
3. He might not be the smartest guy in the room, but he's not dumb, either (because THAT would be tedious). 
4. He's HYPER aware of and in tune with his love interest. And if his partner wants to dominant him in the bedroom, he'll happily let them.  

​That said, here are but a few of the awesome himbos I've encountered in romance:   

Just because I cut back on reviews a while ago doesn't mean I cut back on reading. In fact, all that time I save on NOT doing reviews has really freed me up to read even more. So, with that in mind, here are a few AMAZING romances I've read lately, and reasons why I think you should read them, too:   

Y'all said you wanted romances with sweet, heartwarming Hallmark plots and Outlander/Bridgerton sex scenes, right? Well...here you go:

I don't know about you, but I love the "I'm looking to shed my image/treat myself/experience something sexy, so I need a bad boy, but I definitely won't do anything dumb like FALL for him in the process" trope in romance novels. I just love how these adorable idiots think they can have all these sexy, intimate times with someone who is PERFECT for them and NOT catch feelings. The moment when they realize they're in love is just... *chef's kiss* With that in mind, here are a few AWESOME good girl/bad boy romances:  

*Graphics courtesy of Elle Woods PR. 

Contemporary romance/Rom com
Publication date: ​10/29/2021
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

Oh, the fun I had with this one, y'all...