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I am truly so grateful to publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read as many new books as I do and I’m even more grateful because all three of these books were smash hits for me. Give Me Butterflies was my first book by Jillian Meadows and not only is the cover absolutely stunning, I really loved the romance and everything about the storyline in the book. I can’t wait to read more from Meadows in the future. Earl Crush was probably my least favorite of these three and I still had the most fun with this book. Vasti brings joyful resistance to historical romance and I’m loving being along for the ride. I did read this via an audiobook I purchased myself from Libro.fm. I Think They Love You was my first book by Julian Winters and what a ride! I love books about people who are trying to find themselves so much. I also read this one via an audiobook I purchased myself from Libro.fm. I’m also going to include a DNF review of My Inconvenient Duke by Loretta Chase, which I’m so grateful for the e-ARC of, but unfortunately, it really didn’t work for me.

Give Me Butterflies
by Jillian Meadows

Quick Synopsis: Millie is going for a promotion at work after her boss retired and Finn is just trying to get by. He’s parenting his twin nieces because his sister passed away and his parents are terrible. And now, he and Millie keep having some slightly negative encounters. But somehow the two go from antagonists to friends and then more.

This was my first book by Jillian Meadows, but it absolutely will not be my last. I absolutely adored this single dad romance with two main characters that work in science, at a museum, where their jobs play a role in the overall plot. I felt like Meadows perfectly balanced the adorable twins, the work place drama, and building the romance between Millie and Finn. Honestly, there’s not really anything I didn’t love. I mean, I could have done without the toxic ex-boyfriend because I find that type of content a little triggering, but I did feel like it was handled with a deft touch and somehow it was done in a way that didn’t fully send me spiraling into a crisis about how everything is terrible. So, a bunch of gold stars for that. (But really, fewer abusive in any way exes in romance would be great for me.)

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

Quick Synopsis: Lydia shows up on the Earl of Stanhope’s doorstep and is like, “Hey, let’s get married!” Except he’s like, “So sorry, who are you?” Turns out she’s been in communication with his brother who has been pretending to be him. So rude. And now they have to find his brother because he took off with a rifle scope that allows for *bang bang* to happen from very far away. Yikes! So, off they go on a rollicking adventure with lots of scheming and fun times. Including pretending to be married. *swoon*

I had so much fun with this book, even more than in Ne’er Duke Well, which was also great fun (review of that one to come). Lydia’s intense social anxiety paired with Arthur’s desire to make her comfortable and then the scheming of the people closest to Arthur to bring them together… A great mixture. I also love that this one is actually such an adventure that was just so much fun. I’m not sure that it’s a favorite of all time, but it was an extremely well executed and super fun book that I can see myself revisiting if I just need some joy.

I Think They Love You
by Julian Winters

Quick Synopsis: Denz and Braylon fell in love in college and Denz thought it would be forever. But then Braylon took off to London and Denz went back to Atlanta to work for his family’s business as an event planner. Fast forward a few years and now Denz is competing for CEO because his dad is stepping down, but his family doesn’t take him seriously. Enter his big mouth volunteering that he has a serious boyfriend. And, conveniently, he just bumped into Braylon at a coffee shop just the other day because surprise! Bray is back in ATL too.

I really enjoyed this book, the way that I enjoy all books of characters in their twenties finding their path forward and realizing who they are and what they want. Was this sometimes more childish than I would have preferred? Yes, absolutely. But at the same time, the depth of characterization between Bray and Denz was really well done and I think that I’m definitely ready for Winters’ next adult romance if this is what we got with his first!

DNF: My Inconvenient Duke
by Loretta Chase

This feels like an entirely me problem but despite trying twice, nothing about this book felt like it made sense. Part of it may be the way that some historical romance authors do the thing where Dukes always have multiple names, but for some reason, for me, it felt like every name was slipping through a sieve in my mind. I really wanted to like this one and so often Chase does work for me. Alas, this was not the one. That said, these truly seem likely to be me problems and not generalizable. Therefore, if you’re up for a complete mess of a man cleaning himself up enough to discreetly keep an eye on his best friend’s younger sister’s (who he’s absolutely down bad for) attempts to find a husband, you should definitely give this one a shot! Just maybe have some extra brain space for comprehension. 

Closing Thoughts

I really was so lucky to receive all of these advanced copies from Netgalley and I’m so grateful. Sorry my reviews are late, especially since I actually did finish these in a much more timely fashion. Oops. Anyway, have you read any of these? If so, let me know what you think!

xx