I am fully in my romance era. I don’t think I’ve ever read this many romances in one month and I simply cannot get enough.
Move over literary fiction, I’m craving corny, cheesy romantic novels for the first time in years and you’re going to have to wait a few weeks until I need a change of genre again.
Another unusual trend this month was starting to read some series. The Magnolia Parks series and the Knockemout series are both on this list and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next books in both series.
If you’re a romance reader, you’ve come to the right place for some recommendations!
If you want to see every book I’ve ever read and keep up to date with what I’m reading at any time, you can follow my Goodreads account here.
Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
She is a beautiful, affluent, self-involved and mildly neurotic London socialite. He is Britain’s most photographed bad-boy lothario who broke her heart. But Magnolia Parks and BJ Ballentine are meant to be, and everyone knows it. They’re in the stars… just suspended in a strange kind of love that looks like hurting each other a lot of the time: She dates other people to keep him at bay; he sleeps with other girls to get back at her for it. But at the end of their every sad endeavour to get over one another, it’s still each other they crawl back to. But their dysfunction is catching up with them, pulling at their seams and fraying the world they’ve built; a world where neither has to ever let the other go completely. As the cracks start to show and secrets begin to surface, Magnolia and BJ are finally forced to face the formidable question they’ve been avoiding all their lives: how many loves do you really get in a lifetime?
My rating: ★★★★★
If there’s a gaping Gossip Girl hole in your heart like there is in mine, this book might just fill the void. If Chuck and Blair were transported to London, they would be Magnolia and BJ. Think couture fashion, socialites and posh people problems. Magnolia Parks gives this and more and I couldn’t read the book fast enough. I can’t wait to fully dive into this series and read even more about these characters.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
My rating: ★★★★
All the Bright Places is said to be a hit for fans of The Fault in Our Stars and I can very clearly see why. It provided the same themes and did come across heavily as Young Adult fiction. In a way, I felt like it almost romaticized thoughts of dying suicide, so the book is heavily filled with triggers. But the love story weaved throughout was realistic and beautiful. I just wish it didn’t end the way it did, but I suppose you can’t have happily ever afters all the time.
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington. Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.
My rating: ★★★★
Ok this book was quite filthy. I had seen it all over Instagram and Booktube so thought I was getting into a cosy romcom, but instead I got Fifty Shades of Grey. Just a word of warning, don’t let the cartoon cover fool you. That said, I really enjoyed the story and couldn’t put the book down. I love small-town romances so this fit the bill perfectly. And since we were still going through a heatwave at the beginning of September, I wanted to read this before we fully transitioned into Autumn.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward. Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away. But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?
My rating: ★★★
I’ve got to be honest and say I was a little disappointed by this Ali Hazelwood novel. I previously enjoyed The Love Hypothesis (although found it quite average), but Love on the Brain was incredibly predictable and at times a little too corny for me. Plus there were a few scenes that were NSFW (or for reading on the tube). I like the niche of Ali Hazelwood writing love stories around scientists and people that work in STEM, but this one was a bit farfetched for me and I could see the twist coming a mile away.
Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score
Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon. Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride. Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of. There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.
My rating: ★★★★★
Obsessed. That is my review of this book. It may have took 100 pages before the two main characters finally kissed but oh my word I was hooked to this book. The ending had my smiling from ear to ear and wishing it didn’t have to end. After I write this review, I’m off to purchase the next two books in this series. You need to read this if you like romance novels!
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