definitely, possibly, maybe

what makes riley's historical romances so endlessly riveting is the slice of history she casts light on. the world has always been diverse, in stories like a duke, the lady, and a baby   we get to see it.  the duke in question is busick, a former military hero, hiding the fact that he lost a leg during the wars, who is also suddenly tasked with caring for his deceased cousin's son, i.e. the baby. patience, is the lady in question, and she's been through a lot . not only has her husband died under mysterious circumstances, his uncle is pulling some seriously shady moves on her, keeping her away from her son is almost the least of it. when she goes undercover as the boy's nanny, and she finds herself drawn to his guardian, she fights her attraction tooth and nail.  nothing good ever came from tangling up with the english nobility in her experience. but busick isn't your average duke. and soon the things that draw them together find them irrevocably tangled up with eac

lopez's bonkers debut, lush money , was a trope-filled delight, and her follow-up is no less delightful. hate crush finds princess sofia reuniting with the guy who got away, or really the guy who threw everything they were to each other away because he got drunk and spilled the beans about their secret love affair.  it doesn't help that she had a wild reputation. she's changed and even now won't get credit for it. and everything she's been working for, everything she is doing to save her country and her family can crumble to dust, unless she pretends to get back together with him.  of course he  happens to be notorious rock star aish sallinger. he's a disaster, and he needs sofia. he also hasn't stopped thinking about her and faking a relationship shows him that was he really wants is her forgiveness and her heart to be his again.  the man has a lot of work to do. but watching these two find a way back to each other is nothing short of magical.  **hate crus

when summer hemlock returns to albin academy in just like that  he's not quite sure what he means to do with his life. his plans for finding himself away from the place he's always called home didn't quite pan out. and so he's found a job acting as the teaching assistant to the one man who has always intrigued him. it's been 7 years since he last saw professor fox iseya, and the man can still bring him to his knees. but beyond the anxiety of being in his presence, for summer there's also the glorious freedom of finally asking for what he wants. and he wants iseya. but the professor has experienced soul-crushing loss before. since then he's kept himself, his emotions locked away. why would a vibrant young, so unbearably young, soul want anything to do with him. when they are together, who they are together is a perfect balance. and they just work. what they come to mean to each other is beautiful and emotional. **just like that will publish on

the absolute swooniness of these two friends who have always, always loved each other and finally figuring out how to be together. that being together, for them, is the only possible way either of them will ever be happy and whole, even as both of them are shattered, wounded souls. i can’t possibly convey the swooniness. i can’t possibly put it into words. two rogues make a right   is the latest in the seducing the sedgwicks series, but you don’t need to read the earlier books to follow this one.  william and martin are just wholly each other’s, yes william’s brothers make appearances, but whatever shared history is needed for this story is fully expressed within the pages. honestly i could have just kept reading about these two.  oh, and i know why, because it’s my absolute favorite trope—the grumpy one falls for the sunshiney one. my catnip for all the freaking feels.  just don’t take my word for it. read this delightful thing. savor it. reread it. it’s absolutely glorious.  *

the accidental love series comes to a lovely conclusion with wrong bed, right brother . this time the focus is on amanda, who has long held a crush on her coworker luke. luke who has an annoying twin brother, noah, who is always around. always judging amanda and finding her lacking. to be fair to noah, i think part of his annoyance with amanda is how she is so clearly gaga for his twin, even if he doesn't acknowledge that issue until much later. when amanda ends up in bed with noah, kissing noah, everything changes. that crush on luke. gone. that annoyance with noah. gone. all of a sudden all either of them can think of is how to get each other off without getting caught. given their propensity for public hookups at the start of their fling, this is a very valid concern. but things soon settle into something real. except the timing couldn't be worse, because noah is planning to move to california with luke and they're leaving in six short weeks. it's crazy to ch

trap'n'trace , the latest entry in the federal k9 series at least didn't focus entirely on cops. when socialite katrina vanderburg encounters two dead bodies in one day and is nearly killed for her efforts, she ends up with dayne andrews as her protection detail. their previous encounter wasn't great, but they overcome the awkwardness once all the murdering gets too close for comfort. i mean, there's still a lot of cops in this, because there's a murder investigation and it's just weird. i wish i could say that what is happening in the world around us didn't affect me as a reader, but i think i'm going to have to start avoiding stories that unilaterally depict cops as heroes.  so reading this, i loved kat, i loved dayne, i thought their back-and-forth was compelling and interesting. but, the suspense aspect was difficult, and it's not anyone's fault. it's just where the world is right now. **trap'n'trace will publish on ju

the fifth wynn hockey story, game changer ,  focuses on jackson wynn. until now we haven't had much call to interact with jax because he's been off playing for the chicago aces. but his grandfather's recent alzheimer's diagnosis has him coming home to spend time with the rest of the family. he's not exactly looking forward to this reunion, given all the past tensions and dynamics, jax hasn't really been around to see the way things have begun to settle down, especially now that the wynn patriach's diagnosis is out in the open. before he goes to his family, he needs to attend a teammate's wedding. but when that ends up being called off and he ends up with the bride as a road trip partner, all his summer plans go haywire. the last thing jax expects is to connect with molly the way he does. she's on the rebound, he has his crazy family to deal with, and she's his teammate's ex. but the heart wants what the heart wants, and those wynn boy

the boyfriend project was just such a fun read. when samiah brooks realizes that her no-good boyfriend is stringing her along with two other women, they band together and take him down. going viral is no joke, and the women swear off men for six months. but this is a romance, so you know that just as samiah is set to hold on to her pact, she's going to meet someone who challenges her. daniel collins starts working at her tech company, and all of a sudden he's everywhere. and their attraction is unavoidable. what truly gives this rom-com some depth is the way the female friendships build and grow alongside the romantic relationship. all in all, a truly enjoyable read and an excellent start to a new series. **the boyfriend project will publish on june 9, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/grand central publshing (forever) in exchange for my honest review.

full disclosure: i am k.l.'s agent. and i love this book. it has such a special place in my heart. and k.l. is one of my favorite clients even if she writes me emails all the time worrying about how she is being a diva. (she's not a diva, she's a delight.) if we were us started out as a 114,000 word manuscript called victory lap  and i remember reading it the first time and loving the characters but also knowing that k.l. had to cut something like 30,000 words for this manuscript to even be sellable. to cut those words, my favoritest section of the book had to go. and i will apologize to you guys...especially everyone who wants more nick in this story...because, yeah, that was the part i made her cut. and yet, we had to do it. for word count. for pacing. it absolutely had to go. and to be fair, more nick was added in other parts to balance out the fact that this large chunk was gone. when we got the notice that sourcebooks wanted this story, it was such a thrill. i

reading echoes was a mind-trip, and fractures  basically continues apace. this time we're in miles's perspective, and he and fiona must deal with shifting realities and dual timelines and figuring out what the heck is going on. honestly i recommend a refresher read of echoes  before diving into fractures , the books are decidedly not standalones. not being in fiona's head this time makes for a slightly disconcerting experience when you first pick the book up,  but it quickly fades once you are thrust into the action. and it's also fun to get to know miles a little better. anyway, this book wraps up miles and fiona's journey nicely, with all the pieces finally slotting into place. if you read book 1, this one is a must read. **fractures will publish on june 1, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (entangled teen) in exchange for my honest review.