new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Kandi Steiner’s Love Overboard ✍🏻

Display of romance novels stacked on a table with a sign that reads 'New & Noteworthy Romance - Fall in Love again & again.'

Grade: A-

Tropes: second chance; forced proximity; forbidden; found family; workplace 

I fell in love with Kandi Steiner’s romances through two books: On the Way to You and Black Number Four. When you consider the scope of her work, you might be surprised I didn’t lead with A Love Letter to Whiskey, one of her most popular and well-known romances. But it was those earlier stories that first hinted at the genius behind her writing. Those early characters, complicated in their characterization, were mixed with a manageable level of angst that grabbed my attention. Her way of creating self-aware characters with real foibles, characters who face the narrative’s difficulties with honesty and complexity, captivated me. There was something fresh about her voice that kept me coming back for more. I bring this up because her newest book, Love Overboard, reminds me of exactly that.

While the story of her FMC and MMC, Ember and Finn, is anything but simple, Steiner’s voice is. This romance calls to mind her popular Palm South University series in the way it is written. At the start of each chapter, Steiner anchors us in the book’s reality-show setting, and it also feels like a playful nod to her own past as she experiments with narrative form.

Another strength of Love Overboard is the way Steiner underscores the complexities of reality-show life. We are reminded throughout that editing determines public perception, and that perception has real consequences for the people living inside it. It would have been easy to treat the reality show backdrop as mere set dressing. Ember and Finn’s individual journeys are compelling enough on their own, but grounding the story in the impact of public perception on a relationship born of that world makes the book feel relevant and real in ways romance does not always aim to.

The heart of this romance, though, is the character journeys of Ember and Finn. Ember’s struggle as a people-pleaser, particularly her need to satisfy her father, is deeply relatable. It takes much of the story for her to recognize that pleasing him would ultimately require erasing herself, and it is Finn’s love that buoys her as she arrives at that realization. Finn’s journey is less prominent, partly by design since Love Overboard is told through Ember’s point of view. His challenge in owning a restaurant built on the memory of his grandmother is meaningful, but without his perspective on the page, his evolution feels secondary to hers and doesn’t carry the same emotional weight.

Love Overboard is the kind of romance that entertains and titillates in equal measure. There is something for everyone here, with a full cast of characters creating conflict while also championing Ember and Finn. And despite the strife they encounter, there is something wonderfully unproblematic about their journey together. Steiner’s ability to write about two people who yearn for each other and to bring them into a gorgeously drawn happy ending makes this book a genuine must-read.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: B.B. Reid’s Chrysalis, book 2 of her Men of the Wilds duology ✍🏻

Promotional image for the audiobook 'Chrysalis' by B.B. Reid, featuring an audio player and e-book display. Text reads 'Available Now' and highlights Kindle Unlimited.

Overall Grade: B

Tropes; MFMM; forced proximity; dub con; why choose; found family; dark romance

B.B. Reid’s Chrysalis finally brings the happy ending to her Men of the Wilds duology. Both Crucible, the first book, and Chrysalis are action-packed. There is not a moment of downtime for Aurelia, Thorin, Khalil, or Zeke/Seth/Bane. Reid has gifted her readers with rich story and character development across both books, and Chrysalis provides a satisfying ending to their story.

What kind of reader should pick up this duology? One who loves an FMC who is self-possessed and self-aware. An FMC who can capture the attention of three (rather, five) very different personalities and hold it. The reader of Chrysalis should also be prepared to suspend their disbelief, because Reid puts her characters through their paces as they survive the wilds and civilization in equal measure. She does not hold back in developing challenges, both physical and emotional, for her characters or her readers. And a reader of this book should absolutely adore smut of the “why choose” variety.

Both books of the duology are saturated with the undeniable attraction between these characters, and it would be easy to conclude that is the core of the story. Yet Reid takes the space of two full books for her characters to genuinely evolve. This duology is not simply a retelling of the Goldilocks fairy tale. It explores characters who are seemingly villainous yet also victims, people who have resorted to dark actions simply to survive. Reid draws complex characters who must navigate harsh physical conditions and traumatic experiences as they grow. Amid these layered characterizations, the narrative pulses with murderous revenge and hard-won reconciliation. Chrysalis and Crucible are deliciously smutty without ever negating the depth of character development underneath.

Did I struggle with the dub con elements at the start? Yes. However, Reid builds enough understanding of her characters that we come to accept it, and she continues developing their relationships to show Thorin, Khalil, and Zeke/Seth/Bane’s genuine adoration and respect for Aurelia as the story unfolds. Are there moments that could have used further development to feel more believable? Sure. But first and foremost, B.B. Reid’s intent is entertainment, and this duology delivers. It is spicy and action-filled, with the underlying idea that love is love, no matter how messy it becomes.

If you are a fan of the “why choose” trope, B.B. Reid’s Chrysalis, book two of her Men of the Wilds series, should be your next read.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Uncategorized

✍🏻 Complicated Love: NFL Quarterback Meets Single Mom – It’s Time to Grab Karla Sorensen’s How Not to Fall in Love ✍🏻

An advertisement for the book 'How Not to Fall in Love' by Karla Sorensen, featuring a graphic design with a book cover illustration, a stylized couple, and text promoting its availability on Kindle Unlimited.

A bad-boy NFL star meets his match in a feisty single mom with this sweet, steamy, and emotional novel about second chances and breaking the rules of romance.

Raising my ten-year-old son, running an animal rescue, and caring for my grandfather leaves zero time for complications, let alone cocky athletes who get under my skin. Too bad the universe didn’t get the memo.

Because a big complication just crashed into my life—literally—in the form of towering NFL quarterback Archer Evans, sentenced to community service at my shelter after a scandal. Despite his mistakes, I try not to judge. He’s got demons of his own, and even though he’s made it perfectly clear he wants me, the last thing he needs is a wary single mom seeing the vulnerable man beneath the muscles and the attitude.

Though I’ll admit, I’m tempted to look.

Not that I’d cave. With his notoriety, Archer would never make it past date two of my eight-date rule. I want simple. Safe. He’s too successful. Too arrogant. Too everything. The definition of complicated.

But as the walls around Archer start to crumble, so do mine. And this complication feels suspiciously like love.

I made the rules. Maybe it’s time I broke them.

How Not to Fall in Love is LIVE! https://a.co/d/07Xs37WT

Promotional image for the book 'How Not to Fall in Love' by Karla Sorensen featuring a male figure on the cover with text highlighting themes like 'Bad Boy Quarterback', 'Single Mom', and 'Sports Romance'.
new release

✍🏻 Ready to return to The Men of the Wild? B.B. Reid’s Chrysalis is LIVE! Aurelia and her men are waiting for you. ✍🏻

Promotional image for the book 'Chrysalis' by B.B. Reid, featuring a tablet displaying the book cover with butterflies and a yellow background. Text highlights 'Available Now' and 'Kindle Unlimited'.

CHRYSALIS

Aurelia George was prepared to let the world believe she was dead. Tangled in the arms of her mountain men and bound only by the rules they make, the twice disgraced pop star had found her happily ever after.

Or so she thought.

The only thing surprising about learning her uncle wants her dead is realizing how eager she is to return the favor. Convincing her mountain men to leave their world behind and step into hers won’t be easy. Thorin is desperate to disappear again, Khalil is quietly drowning, and Zeke wants her gone.

For better or worse, this quartet of villains will have to leave their Eden.

And now that the tables have turned, Aurelia’s the one they’ll need to survive. But as she and the rest of the world are about to learn, you can take these men out of the wilds, but you can’t take the wilds out of them.

Two book covers by B.B. Reid: 'Crucible' on the left featuring a dark forest design with birds and a tagline, and 'Chrysalis' on the right with a golden background showcasing butterflies and a tagline.

GRAB this story HERE:

eBook https://amzn.to/3MrL7aW

Audio https://geni.us/chrysalisaudio

Paperback https://geni.us/chrysalisDPB

Uncategorized

✍🏻 Misted Pines Mystery: The Woman from Nowhere Revealed ✍🏻

She can’t escape.
He can’t either.

The Woman from Nowhere, an all-new page-turning grumpy-sunshine, small town, mystery romance set in the Misted Pines world from New York Times bestselling Kristen Ashley is now live!

Book cover of 'The Woman from Nowhere' by Kristen Ashley featuring a lantern in a serene outdoor setting.

After a heartbreaking betrayal, Mabel Adams reinvents herself for the fourth time. Regardless of the alarming reputation of the deceptively sleepy town of Misted Pines, she decides to move all the way across the country to start yet again.

Mabel has a one-night stand with a mountain man who rocks her world in bed but doesn’t tell her his name.

The next day, after receiving a threatening note from her neighbors, she discovers she’s living next to an extremist cult where the women go in and are never seen again.

After serving, former Navy SEAL Hutch Hutchison is living a peaceful life on his patch in the mountains outside Misted Pines. He’s been burned so many times by women, he’s happy to train his guard dogs, play his guitar, live remote, and most of all, quiet.

Until he hooks up with a beautiful woman who lives just down the way. And then he discovers she’s been threatened by the cult next door.

Hutch’s protective instinct sparks, and he decides his next mission is to keep Mabel safe at all costs.

But there’s something even hinkier about that cult than Hutch or local law enforcement expect.

As Hutch executes the riskiest mission of his life—keeping Mabel safe at the same time keeping both of their hearts intact—Hutch and the Sheriff’s Department try to unravel the mystery of The Lion and The Lamb before it’s too late.

Because Mabel is in their crosshairs.

And Hutch is not about to allow her to disappear.

Promotional image for the book 'The Woman from Nowhere' by Kristen Ashley, featuring the book cover along with a tablet and smartphone displaying the book in different formats. Text highlights that the book is available in ebook, paperback, and audio versions.

Start reading today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XuXgy1
B&N: https://bit.ly/3L2JaBl
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3Yo23lf
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3YZJ80d
Google Play: https://bit.ly/4s6K9A5
Bookshop.org Print: https://bit.ly/4sbQkTn
BAM Print: https://bit.ly/3NlF2O0

Listen on audio now!
Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/4bvFoL1
Audible: https://adbl.co/41sa5e8

Get signed copies from The Poisoned Penhttps://bit.ly/4s3ieAU

Add The Woman from Nowhere to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/49H77ay

Start the series of standalones with The Girl in the Misthttps://bit.ly/4bIdavs

Book promotion image featuring the title 'The Woman From Nowhere' by Kristen Ashley, alongside an audiobook and e-reader display, with a holiday-themed background of pine branches and wooden texture.

For more information on Kristen Ashley, visit:
https://www.kristenashley.net/

Connect with Kristen Ashley
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/44hqxyI
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3U1PKYY
Instagram: https://bit.ly/49MgbIi
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BookBub: https://bit.ly/3vUbQoz

new release

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Kristen Ashley’s The Woman From Nowhere ✍🏻

Book cover of 'The Woman from Nowhere' by Kristen Ashley, featuring a lantern and a blurred natural background.

Overall Grade: A

Genre/Tropes: contemporary romance; one night stand to more; romantic suspense; small town romance; close proximity; standalone in an interconnected series; found family; they heal each other of their past traumas; finding home

A Kristen Ashley romance is like a seasoned sommelier uncorking the perfect wine. She knows how to let a story breathe. It’s the reason I love her books even when a plotline feels rushed in places or a character’s development doesn’t quite reach where I’d hoped. When you crack the cover of a KA novel (or swipe to the first page on your Kindle), you know you’re being gifted with a depth of story not readily found across romancelandia. Whether she’s writing contemporary romance, romantic suspense, MC romance, romantasy, or paranormal, Ashley takes her readers on a journey that doesn’t end with a third-act breakup — an actual rarity in her books, especially her most recent ones. Instead, she gives you their beginning, their middle, their end, and then more of their happy ending. Her books are deliciously thicc, and her commitment to giving readers everything about her characters makes it easy to become completely engrossed in their story.

In her most recent book, The Woman From Nowhere, the next installment in her Misted Pines series, Ashley writes the story of Mabel, a new addition to the Misted Pines community and local shop owner, and Hutch, the town’s loner who trains quality guard dogs. As she has done throughout this series, Ashley builds a threat around her FMC, leaving the alpha male MMC to intercede and eventually fall hard. Mabel and Hutch have chemistry in spades, and their one-night stand to FWB arc is entirely believable for longtime Ashley readers. If anything strains credibility, it’s the sheer volume of trouble that plagues Misted Pines, but that’s by design. This series operates like Twin Peaks et al., where a daily dose of drama fuels episodic glory. In the real world, no one would live in Misted Pines. In the book world, its troubles are irresistible.

Unlike some of Ashley’s more recent titles, her Avenging Angels series, for example, where the suspense elements hover at the edges while the character work takes center stage (a personal frustration of mine), The Woman From Nowhere blends Mabel and Hutch’s romantic journey with the suspense plotline in a way that feels genuinely balanced. And just when you think the criminal activity in Misted Pines has been resolved, Ashley reminds you exactly why she has the readership she does. The jaw-dropping action that follows also serves as a catalyst for pushing Mabel and Hutch from FWB to something more. Though if you think that’s a spoiler, you’ve never read a KA story. There is a distinct guarantee in every Ashley book that the MMC and FMC fall hard and fast; what she loves to toy with is the progression.

The Woman From Nowhere is among my favorite Kristen Ashley books from her most recent work because it has everything: a compelling FMC and MMC with personal histories full of emotional gravitas, a strong plotline, and a glorious cast of characters who make you feel all your feelings while also reminding you why you fell in love with this series in the first place.

Simply put, I couldn’t stop reading. The Woman From Nowhere holds its readers in thrall, much like the first sip of a wine you never want to finish. If you’re looking for a romantic suspense with genuine heart, you will not be disappointed.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Jessica Peterson’s Ryder, the final book of the Lucky River Ranch series ✍🏻

Book cover of 'Ryder' by Jessica Peterson, featuring a romantic scene between a cowboy and a woman in a cowboy hat against a rodeo backdrop.

Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: friends to lovers; brother’s best friend’s sister; small town romance; forbidden

Jessica Peterson’s final story in her Lucky River Ranch series, Ryder, is a lovely yet steamy conclusion to a series that ingratiates itself into your heart. In Ryder, I am reminded of some of Peterson’s earlier stories where the romance is simply the conduit for deeper societal messages. This newest story investigates the complications of grief as well as outdated parental expectations that influence one’s sense of identity.

Through Ryder’s characterization as well as his brothers’ earlier stories, Peterson illustrates the many ways people process grief. She shows us that each person handles loss differently. For the older brothers, they became busy, attending to the younger brothers and ensuring their family ranch remained intact. As the youngest brother, Ryder compartmentalized his grief, avoiding feeling it because the pain felt too great. As we see through his journey, this causes him to live a “half life.” It is Billie who helps him see that he must go through the process of pain to arrive at a well lived life. This is the most powerful message in this final book, and for me, it is Ryder’s story that adds the deepest meaning to the series. Peterson’s careful handling of the brothers’ grief is a masterclass in marrying romance with the struggles of human nature.

Adding to that is Billie’s journey from the girl who wants to find a place that matches her inner sense of self as she battles her parents’ expectations. Like Ryder, Billie is more than sass and independence. She is a people pleaser when it comes to her parents, and they, being traditionalists, cannot see to the heart of her interests because they see her first as a woman. Her journey involves allowing herself to have her wants (Ryder, horse therapy, and more) and standing brave in her choices. Both she and Ryder live half lives until they eventually realize, through their adoration of each other, that they can choose something fuller and more meaningful.All of this is wrapped up in the smexiness Peterson’s readers have come to love, though as always, the steam is secondary to the story. Jessica Peterson’s romances challenge what we know and feel and ask us to consider living more complete lives. Ryder and the Lucky River Ranch crew challenge us to choose love while also choosing ourselves.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Obsessed. That is the word to describe my feelings for Kristen Ashley’s Perfect In Every Way, out TODAY! ✍🏻

The Downs is peaceful…but steeped in mystery.
The Duke is arrogant, gorgeous and loyal..and maybe Perfect In Every Way.

Perfect In Every Way, an all-new compelling forced proximity, mystery romance in the Manors and Mysteries series from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley is now live!

Historical fiction writer, Vivienne Dupree, is hoping to unravel the mystery of her WWII soldier, great-grandfather’s doomed love affair with the lovely Lady Harmony. A woman he met convalescing at the sweeping English country estate, The Downs.

Vivienne jumps at the invitation to spend time at this magnificent property, doing so with unfettered access to family papers.

What she doesn’t expect is to come face-to-face—and immediately go head-to-head—with Battle Talyn, the ludicrously handsome, imposing, ridiculously arrogant Duke of Burleigh.

From the start, Vivi and Battle match wits, but it doesn’t take long for Vivi to realize something is amiss at The Downs. She dives into her research to figure it out, at the same time Battle launches a campaign that Vivi doesn’t quite understand.

The game is on, and a mystery is afoot.

What kept the doomed lovers apart all those years ago? What’s happening in the ballroom? Is there a curse on The Downs?

And what does all of this have to do with Battle and Vivi?

Grab your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4hsRhTg
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/PerfectInEveryWay
B&N: https://bit.ly/3Nk87IZ
Apple Books: https://apple.co/4aKuzVv
Kobo: https://bit.ly/45nMIoL
Google Play: https://bit.ly/4sxBho4
Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/4qghdFo

Listen on audio narrated by Stella Bloom!
Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/3MaO2ET
Audible: https://adbl.co/4qKa40p

Get signed copies from The Poisoned Penhttps://bit.ly/49MK1ja

Add Perfect In Every Way to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/49KiKO1

Start the series of standalones with Too Good to Be Truehttps://bit.ly/464IJxq

For more information on Kristen Ashley, visit:
https://www.kristenashley.net/

Connect with Kristen Ashley
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/44hqxyI
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3U1PKYY
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Pinterest: https://bit.ly/4aKmmxM
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3UbHWE3
BookBub: https://bit.ly/3vUbQoz

new release

✍🏻 A new release in a new year! Check out Lance Rubin’s 16 Forever ✍🏻

Image featuring the book '16 Forever' by Lance Rubin displayed on a tablet and smartphone, alongside the book cover. A birthday cake is illustrated at the bottom, with the text 'New Release' prominently displayed.

Looking for a YA, time loop romance? Check out 16 Forever. With a pared-down prose and a driving narrative, this story is highly readable and accessible. Carter’s challenges will both entertain and pull at your heartstrings.

𝟏𝟔 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 by New York Times bestselling author Lance Rubin

(January 6, HarperCollins, Hardcover)
Time-loop Romance | Crossover appeal

Book cover for '16 Forever' by Lance Rubin, featuring a birthday cake with lit candles and illustrations of a girl and a boy sitting next to each other. The text includes the title '16 Forever' and a quote about the story.

It’s the morning of Carter Cohen’s 16th birthday, and everything’s going his way. He’s psyched and ready to get his driver’s license, his little brother’s not hogging the bathroom, and, man, something smells good for breakfast…

But when Carter bounds downstairs, Mom bursts into tears. It happened again. It’s Carter’s 16th birthday—for the sixth time. Every time he’s supposed to turn 17, he loops back a year. His memory gets wiped clean, his body ages backward—the rest of the world moves on, just not him.

Maggie Spear, on the other hand, has been dreading this day ever since she and Carter started dating. When she spies him in the halls and he doesn’t seem to know her at all, it’s obvious that it’s over between them. She can’t be in a relationship with someone who is just going to forget her again and again. Since Carter doesn’t remember that they’re together, then it’s probably better if she just pretends that they never were.

Except Carter senses that there’s more to their story than Maggie’s letting on, and Maggie’s keeping secrets of her own—but in the process of trying to let the other go, they find themselves falling in love all over again. With Maggie soon leaving for college and Carter’s birthday quickly coming around again, will they be able to find a forever that isn’t stuck at 16?

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐢𝐭 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: https://a.co/d/gQdXJvj

new release

✍🏻 New Year, New Read! Grab Louise Bay’s newest release, Love Hard, NOW! ✍🏻

NEW RELEASE!

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝐚 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟑) by USA Today Bestselling Author Louise Bay is now LIVE! He’s an uptight New Yorker. She’s a real-as-it-gets farm girl from Colorado. They’re from different worlds, but their worlds are about to collide.

➡️𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬! 

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱! 

https://geni.us/LoveHard

Amazon US: https://geni.us/LoveHardAmzUS

Amazon UK: https://geni.us/loveharduk

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F8RCGCQ4

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0F8RCGCQ4

Audible US: https://geni.us/lovehardaudio

Audible UK: https://geni.us/lovehardaudiouk

Add to 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔: https://geni.us/LoveHardGR

Promotional graphic for the book 'Love Hard' by Louise Bay, featuring a man in a black shirt and scenic backgrounds with mountains and trees, highlighting the romance theme.

What to expect:

💚Small Town

💚Billionaire Romance

💚Colorado & New York 

💚Long Distance

💚Different Worlds

​​💚Love at first sight

💚Destined to be together

💚Opposites Attract

💚Standalone

Blurb: 

In my world, love comes with a rulebook.

Marry the right girl. From the right family. With the right last name.

I’m Jack Alden—the only son of the Alden dynasty. The kind of New York family that’s been around since ships were made of wood and fortunes were built on steel.

My mother’s been trying to find me a “suitable” wife for years.

So naturally, I fall for a woman who couldn’t care less about any of it.

Iris Williams.

I first saw her at the New York City Ballet—crying in the stalls like the music had cracked her open. She didn’t know who I was. She wasn’t performing for anyone. She was just… real.

One night with her, and I remembered what it felt like to actually breathe.

Then she disappeared.

Months later, I find her again—on a fruit farm in the middle of Colorado, hurling raspberries at me like she’s auditioning for a food fight. Turns out, Iris is smart, stubborn, and not remotely impressed by a billionaire with a trust fund and an overbearing mother.

She makes me laugh.

She makes me think.

And for the first time in my life, I want something that isn’t written in my family’s history books.

But old money comes with old rules.

And loving Iris means breaking every single one.

They say you can’t choose where you come from.

Maybe not.

But you can choose who you fight for.

And this time, I’m choosing her.

Because when it comes to Iris Williams—I don’t just love.

I love hard.


Find more books by Louise Bay here:
https://louisebay.com/