So, I was scrolling through a Goodreads list, as one does, trying to decide what books I think are likely to be nominated in the romance category this year and realized that Happy Place by Emily Henry has literally over half a million ratings on Goodreads, while so many books that I have also loved don’t even have 1,000. So I wanted to take a quick minute to just shout about these books because they are clearly not receiving enough marketing dollars. (Also, I did receive an ARC copy of all five of these books, but I’ve already posted my review and contributed to my Netgalley score, so this is entirely unsolicited by anything besides me feeling very strongly that more eyeballs should be on these books. Okay, thank you.)
The House on Mulberry Street
by Jeannie Chin
Y’all, the way I loved this friends to lovers romance… There’s something about a childhood friends to lovers paired with some pining on the man’s side that will get me just about every time. Throw in some complicated family dynamics and a truly excellent group of side characters with a plot to keep me going? It’s a recipe for great things. For more information on my thoughts, I did have an ARC so there’s a review you can find here.
Full Moon Over Freedom
by Angelina M. Lopez
I am going to blame the fact that this book is sitting at less than 500 ratings on the fact that it’s a fairly recent release, but truly, y’all. This book has some intensely sexy scenes and some seriously intense family dynamics. There is a deception element here that I don’t love, but honestly, the way these two have their second chance blended with a friends to lovers dynamic where the MMC taught the FMC about sex in a sex lessons type of way? So many good things. Oh, and there’s a dose of magic, which is always a delight. I cannot recommend this series enough. And once again, if you’d like more information on my thoughts, because I had an ARC, there’s a review you can find here.
Single Dads Club
by Therese Beharrie
I still can’t believe how much I cried reading this book because it honestly really isn’t sad. It’s just that it overwhelmed me by how much I love the cast of characters Beharrie brought together. I really hope this was the kickoff to a series because I am so in love with them. Anyway, this book has a dad who is co-parenting with the mother of the baby, but she has to go away for work so he’s left single parenting and the FMC sets him up on a friend date basically with her brother. I loved this. It’s just so unique and I had such a brilliant time with it. I truly think you should give this book a shot if any of that sounds interesting. If you need more persuasion, again, I had an ARC so I have a review you can find here.
Pas de Don’t by Chloe Angyal
There’s something about a romance where the FMC is taking charge of her life after having been wronged that will get me every time. This book has intense “my tears ricochet” vibes to me and I feel like Heather would have a great time fitting herself into the choreo of that song on the Eras Tour. Anyway, if you like dance, if you like books that deal with finding yourself, if you like books with an element of grief, I truly cannot recommend this one enough. I’m definitely looking forward to Angyal’s follow up. And as with the other books on this list, I once again had an ARC so you can find my review here.
Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort
I talked about the uniqueness of Single Dads Club, but if you’re feeling like you’re in a rut with contemporary romance, I would definitely suggest giving Midnight Duet a shot, as long as you can get behind some truly extra characters and don’t mind some musical theatre references. I had no idea what to think of this book for the longest time. Truly, just could not decide whether I liked it or not. And then I eventually realized that these characters had well and truly snuck up on me and I was extremely attached and invested. Basically, our FMC’s life is in shambles (kind of literally, tbh) and so she rents out her very dilapidated theatre for a rehearsal space for this rock band and then sparks fly between her and the MMC. However, that makes the plot sound simple and straight-forward, but the reality of the situation is anything but. Regardless, this book was an extreme page turner and I think could definitely kick you out of a reading slump! Oh, and, par for the course, this too is a romance I read as an ARC, so you can find more thoughts here.
Closing Thoughts
In looking through this Goodreads list, I started to feel like the only time I read books that aren’t everywhere is apparently when I have an ARC copy so perhaps I should be better about that. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the books that I found below 1,000 ratings where either I have an ARC I haven’t gotten to or I’ve heard at least one person talk about it and I’m intrigued. What I would beg of you is that if you’ve read any of these books, please let me know your thoughts!! And if you feel like checking out the list and then coming back to tell me what you think, I would be ever so grateful. Also, would anyone be interested if I made a post about predicting the Goodreads Top 20 Romance Books? Because for some reason I’m deeply invested in getting ahead of the disappointment this year so I wouldn’t mind doing that if anyone is interested…
- In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae
- A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee
- The Year of Cecily by Lisa Lin
- Striking Gold by Janine Amesta
- A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña (currently reading!)
- Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender (not even on the list, but still below 1,000 ratings and also did release this year)
- Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn (again, not on the list, but same as above)
- The Duchess Effect by Tracey Livesay (again, not on the list…)
- The Secret to a Southern Wedding by Synithia Williams (again, not on the list…)
- Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid (again, not on the list…)
xx
firewhiskeyreader 