Category: Review

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Saffron A. Kent’s You Beautiful Thing, You ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B

Tropes: forbidden; enemy’s little sister; best friend’s brother; opposites attract; small-town; soccer; breeding kink

I read early reviews of Saffron A. Kent’s You Beautiful Thing, You to get a sense of what early readers have said. Goodreads is such a fraught place, however. Many of her early readers love Tempest and Ledger, the main characters of this newest story. We’ve met them before in other St. Mary’s Rebels stories, and SAK piqued our curiosity about this couple, in particular. But the toxic side of Goodreads exists in the reviews for You Beautiful Thing, You too. There were a handful of reviews who DNF’d it for the things that make SAK’s romances purely her, and that troubles this reviewer.

Saffron A. Kent has a particular voice, a particular version of romance. There is intent in her authorial choices: fraught hero, almost an anti-hero; nubile FMC who seems both naive yet mature in equal measure; a fated love that transcends time and space; and an almost stream-of-consciousness narration that, oftentimes, weighs down her story. If you’re not adept at recognizing her stylistic choices, you will reduce her storytelling to particular scenes that seem farfetched and absurd, but that’s also SAK’s intent. She writes romance strewn with smut, and it’s titillating. Even more, SAK has created a niche for herself in romancelandia, and she deserves that spot. You Beautiful Thing, You underscores the ineptitude of the people closest to you to truly understand what makes you, you. This message is powerful for people who feel unseen and unheard. This is Ledger’s plight, and Tempest, his forever love, understands him better than his own family. She sees him and understands him in ways that they don’t realize until she champions him.  In her moments of helping his family realize the truths of Ledger, you fall madly in love with her character. In return, Ledger is her protection, her safe place. She grew up in a home with horrible parents, and her older brother, Reed, was her former protector. However, Reed’s life is now wrapped up in Callie and their child, so Tempest is alone except for Ledger as her protector.

There is much back and forth between Ledger and Tempest as they deny a future as a couple. As they negotiate that tension, SAK loses readers because they don’t understand the gravity of SAK’s story for Ledger and Tempest. How can Ledger love Tempest when Ledger has never learned to accept and love himself? It would be foolhardy to have him profess his undying love for her. Instead, he must struggle and strain between actions that show his love and the words to match it. I appreciated that Tempest and Ledger have a largely physical relationship with a want to create their own family before they can voice their unending love for each other. Their story must take up much of the 464 pages of this book because they have to dig through years of traumatic sludge, and SAK gives them that space. 

Beyond the foundation of their emotional journeys, Saffron A. Kent’s You Beautiful Thing, You is pure, unadulterated smut. It’s dreamy and decadently dirty. To get caught up in the appropriateness of their eroticism is to miss the point. It’s possible to craft both an angsty romance and a smutty one too. It’s what romancelandia allows. And that’s why I’ll continue to read Saffron A. Kent because she can be both things: scintillating and spicy in equal measure.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Kandi Steiner’s Watch Your Mouth, book 2 of the Kings of The Ice series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: best friend’s little sister; teammate’s little sister; brother’s best friend; professional hockey romance; forbidden relationship; road trip romance

“And I knew even if we were about to set fire to the world we lived in now, I would gladly live in the ashes if it meant I got to be with him. We surrendered everything. We laid our old lives to rest, knowing there would be hardship and pain ahead of us. We jumped headfirst into the risk, hand in hand, willing to forsake it all in the name of each other. There was no walking away this time. There was no end to this summer.”

Among her words, Kandi Steiner wins your heart. She beguiles you with the type of romance that feels ageless, and her newest offering, Watch Your Mouth, is one of the many romances that have found a permanent space in my heart. Jaxson Brittain and Grace Tanev are everything you love about romance: attraction for days and a need for each other that transcends time and space. Each moment of this story was emotionally palpable. One minute, you find yourself laughing at Grace’s attempts (and successes) to add light to Jaxson’s safe, darkened world. The next minute, your panties are damp, and your glasses are fogging from their eroticism. Each step of the book pulls you deeper into their adventures, and Steiner doesn’t miss a step with the only exception being the forbidden trope. 

I try to avoid critiquing a book on its tropes because there are definite characteristics of tropes that seem required to the genre. However, I want to speak to Steiner’s handling of Jaxson and Grace’s coupling. I get it. Really, I get it: teammate code, bro code, girl code…it’s all wrapped up in integrity and trust. But I really, really want to read stories where the younger sister or best friend can feel drawn to each other, and it doesn’t end up being forbidden. Jaxson and Grace have bigger issues to handle without having to handle the need for her brother’s approval: his need to set boundaries with an abusive father and her need to accept her choices for the future as well as help her family recognize her value as more than her brother’s younger sister. I usually inhale Steiner’s stories, but I found myself taking breaks from this story because I grew tired of Jaxson and Grace’s internal struggles about a future together, Once they recognized their depth of feelings for the other, the story took off for me. I understand that a story has a requirement for tension. Steiner prides herself in the crafting of angst in her stories, but I think angst could have been wrought in other ways that upended the staid challenge of an older brother’s or teammate’s approval. In 2023, I think we can move beyond that.

All of that said, I still love Watch Your Mouth. I love how Jaxson and Grace complete each other; I love how Grace challenges Jaxson’s boundaries so he can rewrite his own; I love how Jaxson loves Grace from the depths of himself; I love the found family of the Ospreys and the promise of future stories for Daddy P and Coach McCabe. And I love the spice and drama of Jaxson and Grace’s story. Once they found their power in each other, Watch Your Mouth was like a slap shot to the net, and it managed to be another huge score in Kandi Steiner’s Kings of the Ice series.

In love and romance,


Professor A

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✍🏻Professor Romance’s Review: Tijan’s Pine River ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B-

Tropes: small town dark romance; hate to love; cousin’s best friend MMC; MMA MMC; found family; new adult romance

If you’ve read Tijan’s Fallen Crest series, her newest story, Pine River, will feel similar. With two main characters who begin the book disliking each other while also overwhelmingly attracted to each other, Scout and Ramsey feel similar to her main couple, Sam and Mason, of her popular Fallen Crest series. The draw of Pine River is its engrossing story. Chapter after chapter of Scout and Ramsey spurning each other while struggling with combustible chemistry draws you into this new universe from Tijan. 

I love ‘hate to love’ and messy romance. It makes for an exciting story, and Tijan has definitely crafted this messiness well into Pine River. She had me enticed when this story existed as her newsletter story. While I was excited about this book, I was sad when she stopped publishing it in her newsletter because the push and pull of Scout and Ramsey’s chemistry drew me in. 

Here’s my issue with Pine River. It’s a disjointed read. Even though she’s done a revision of those newsletter chapters, there were times when, from chapter to chapter or paragraph to paragraph, I struggled with the flow of her storytelling and the construction of her characters’ journeys. In fact, I read some of the earlier reviews for this book because I wondered if anyone else felt the fractures in her development. Alas, I might be the only early reader who feels this way. 

Did I appreciate Ramsey and Scout’s journey? Yes. The power of the found family trope in Pine River is the best part of this story beyond her main characters’ attraction to each other. The traumas that Ramsey and Scout carry from their pasts are healed in their union but ALSO through their relationships with the ancillary characters of this story. Much as she did with her Fallen Crest series, I’m certain that Tijan has unlocked a new space in which to draw other stories. When you finish this book, that almost feels like a promise from Tijan. 

While I like the way that Tijan has crafted Ramsey and Scout in Pine River, for all intents and purposes, they aren’t Mason and Sam. Their romance, however, will entice and beguile you because Tijan has found a way to bring so much story to her readers that you can’t help but read it through to the final page.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Laney Hatcher’s Love Matched, a Smartypants Romance ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes: opposites attract; fish out of water; standalone in an interconnected series; regency romance; slow burn


The brilliance of Laney Hatcher’s storytelling in the Smartypants World shouldn’t be missed. Here’s the situation: imagine taking a beloved series (Knitting in the City series) from the illustrious Penny Reid and reimagining it into the world of Regency romance. This isn’t an easy task as the women of Penny Reid’s original series read against type for that world. Yet, after Hatcher’s first two books for Smartypants, Neanderthal Seeks Duchess and Well-Acquainted, she does it with such aplomb that it’s quite astounding to the dedicated Penny Reid reader. Now, the newest story, Love Matched, poses another challenge. In the story that Love Matched re-tells, Love Hacked, the MMC is a genius hacker. How does one take a decidedly 21st-century occupation and infuse some element of it into a Regency romance? If you’re Laney Hatcher, seemingly easy. You should know that Penny Reid’s Sandra and Alex are my second favorite couple in her Knitting in the City series, so I was reading Love Matched with a critical, yet intrigued eye. How do you craft an MMC and FMC such as Sandra and Alex into 19th-century characters? Even more, when I read Penny Reid’s Love Hacked, there was a desolation to Alex’s story, a struggle to unwind himself from an outer claim on him. This bind is the tension of their story, as over and over again, Sandra must fight for their coupleship with the odds stacked against them. 

And Laney Hatcher rises to the challenge of these issues in her story, Love Matched. Even in Regency England, Sandra is headstrong, independent, and brave. Her pursuit of Alexander is the catalyst for significant change in his life, and she believes in him and their capacity for a future, just as the character in Penny Reid’s book does. Additionally, Hatcher composes Alexander with the same solitariness as Reid’s character. This is important because the Alex of Penny Reid’s book cloaks himself in that solitariness as protection. Hatcher’s ability to draw Alexander in the same, but different manner than Reid’s character doesn’t read like a copy, but rather an iteration, a complex, fully rendered reimagining. And I find this fascinating and exciting. 

Laney Hatcher’s Love Matched is my favorite of her Smartypants Romance stories thus far. Partly, I love an FMC who knows her mind and challenges social mores to ensure her eternal happiness, and I adore an MMC who challenges her but also accepts her on her own terms. The community we love and adore in Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series is still a cornerstone of Laney Hatcher’s reconceptualization of this beloved group of women. It continues to buoy the stories. Now, I’m ready for Hatcher’s next book in the series, as it should feature my favoritest of favorites in the Penny Reid world, Fiona and Greg. What will a ninja look like in Regency England? One can only imagine it.

In love and romance,


Professor A

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Juliette Cross’s Peaches and Dreams, a Green Valley Heroes story ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: small town romance; single dad; grump/sunshine; opposites attract; boss babe FMC

“You’re my true north, Marly Rivers. I’ll always find you.”

Nothing makes my blood hum more than a good old-fashioned romance where the MMC is grumpy, and the FMC is sunshiny and independent and fun. This is the case with Juliette Cross’s Peaches and Dreams. Every moment of this story is a delight. Marly and Wade are opposites who attract. Wade has this tendency to judge Marly’s actions, but she quickly shows her tenderness and kindness toward his son, and it wins his heart. 

Juliette Cross has crafted a new Smartypants Romance story in Peaches and Dreams, challenging her readers to look beyond the “cover” of a person and find ways to live life to its fullest extent. It’s okay to choose yourself over your family’s expectations, and a father who loves his child is better than raising one to be just like you.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Karla Sorensen’s The Best Laid Plans ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes/Elements: grump/sunshine; forced roommate/proximity; renovation romance; found family; slow burn; former pro football player

Karla Sorensen’s The Best Laid Plans begins like a lamb and ends with a lion’s roar. There is a quiet to this story even in the midst of the banter between her MMC, Burke, and her FMC, Charlotte, a back-and-forth that highlights their burgeoning attraction. It’s about what’s not being said in Sorensen’s newest story, the words and feelings that can’t seem to be spoken which captivates me. And I have so many words and thoughts about this book that I struggle to bring any structure to this review. Let me just go where I want to go, and I hope you follow it and grab this book fast.

Karla Sorensen has always been able to craft chemistry. She’s not an overtly erotic author. She infuses attraction and $ex into her books, but she doesn’t grant us full access to all the details of those scenes. Instead, she develops the relationships between her characters so much so that, oftentimes, at least recently, her MMC and FMC don’t consummate or give in to their attraction until late in the story. For this reader, this pacing is impeccable as it holds the reader in its thrall. I never get tired of the burgeoning relationship because every moment seems to matter for the future of her characters. Her ability to grab her readers quickly and keep them engaged throughout the story is her strength. This is definitely the case with Burke and Charlotte. And it is necessary for the depth and gravity of this book’s story.

Now, here’s where I might lose people but it can’t go without mention because, aside from Burke and Charlotte’s story, their fight against their attraction, their coming together, the falling apart, and their happily ever after, the true genius of Sorensen’s The Best Laid Plans is its exposition and interrogation of grief. Yes, she lays this at the feet of Burke. She fashions his grief to be palpable for her readers, and she shows the futility of language to process loss through his characterization. It’s brilliant. Having recently lost a very good friend, I understand Burke and his messy grief process. It’s complex and uncomfortable and forever incomplete, and Sorensen captures this well.

But here’s where her capacity as an author shines: the house, the one that Burke and Charlotte renovate throughout the book, is a representation of the gravity of loss. The juxtaposition of a house seemingly dead being raised to life with the fixed death of one of his favorite people is profound. It’s chilling how Sorensen crafts this. How do you live life without that person? Sorensen uses the house as a metaphor for dying. Then, in the specter of that house, she underscores the message about living other people’s dreams, both Burke’s father’s but also Chris’s dream. For much of this book, Burke doesn’t even know how to dream, so Sorensen gifts him one with the house. The depth of development in this analogy is brilliant and impactful and emotional. You cannot read this story and not feel the gravity of life. She even illustrates the multiple processes of grief through both Burke and Charlotte. It quite honestly left me spellbound.

Add to all of that some keen stylistic choices that excited this reader. Chapters Thirty-One and Thirty-Two are my two favorite chapters because Sorensen uses repetition in these chapters to feel like punches to the gut. As Burke and Charlotte struggle to handle the loss of their relationship, the repetition underscores it. The intentionality of these choices supports my contention that Karla Sorensen is an intelligent, intentional writer. And more people need to read her stories.

The Best Laid Plans has a flavor similar to Sorensen’s former stories but has its own voice. That voice is a reminder of the fragility of life. If you leave this book without hugging those you love a little tighter, you’ve missed the power of Karla Sorensen’s message and her provocative new story.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Lexi Blake’s Love The Way You Spy, book 1 of the Masters & Mercenaries New Recruits ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B

Tropes: next generation; insta-attraction; bdsm; romantic suspense; found family; grump/sunshine; forced proximity; fake relationship

Lexi Blake’s Love The Way You Spy is a much-anticipated read. If you’ve read her Masters and Mercenaries series (all iterations), you know this is the next generation of spies. I went into this book excited for Tasha Taggart and her love story. And I enjoyed the suspense of it, the curve balls that Lexi Blake loves to throw at her readers. For me, the suspense portion of the story was the most interesting, but I struggled with the love story. Honestly, I don’t think this is Lexi Blake’s fault…well maybe a little. The pacing is a bit slow. I didn’t need the constant reminders from Dare that he wouldn’t be able to have a future with Tasha even though she provided him comfort and a safe landing space for his feelings. Even though he feels seen by her, he “can’t have her.” Dare’s admonishments went a bit too far in this story.

Additionally, must Ian Taggart always save the day? I love him. Really I do. The found family trope of this story is the common thread of the Masters and Mercenaries universe. It’s one of the main reasons I continue to read these stories. And Love The Way You Spy is no different. The next generation, while struggling with fraught connections, has the comfort of the found family trope. The best part of Dare’s journey is his realization that he can be loved, not just by Tasha, but also by a broader group of people including Ian Taggart. But I’d love for Papa Taggart not to be the ultimate rescuer. I recognize the forthcoming characters are young, but I’m hoping there will be other former Masters and Mercenaries characters to guide this talented crew through their professional and personal journeys.

Overall, I liked Love The Way You Spy, but it was a slower read than I expected, and I found that to be disappointing.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Rebecca Jenshak’s Tempting the Player ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A- / B+

Tropes: bodyguard romance; forbidden relationship; new adult romance; former celebrity; grump/sunshine

Rebecca Jenshak’s Tempting the Player is my favorite of her Campus Wallflowers series. I believe it has a lot to do with its ability to wrap up a beloved series while potentially launching a new one. Even more, Jenshak has drawn Jane and Hendrick in such a way that they grab your attention from the start of their story. I was obsessed with Hendrick’s want to protect Jane from an outside threat. His grumpy, closed-off exterior was unraveled with Jenshak’s deft pacing. His story is particularly heartfelt as he navigates re-entering his family after a time away, a situation fraught with angry feelings and worry over his leaving again. Jenshak uses Jane’s need for protection as the perfect catalyst for Hendrick’s reconciliation with his brothers.

Jane’s story arc is the foundation of Tempting the Player, as she must navigate an outside threat, the renewed attention of fans, and a hold on the normalcy of life she’s created since starting at Valley U. The suspense portion of Jenshak’s story is no surprise, even though Jenshak tries to put us off the trail with other characters. Even though I was able to figure out the person threatening Jane, Jenshak shows her skill as a seasoned romance writer in the navigation of Hendrick and Jane’s burgeoning forbidden relationship. Their chemistry and attraction are easy distractions in her story.

Lastly, I absolutely loved Hendrick’s brothers, and I’m hoping there are future stories for this motley crew of “lost boys” – there is no better term for them. Jenshak has crafted them in such a way that makes them intriguing, specifically his brothers, Knox and Archer. You’ll find me downloading these stories, if Rebecca Jenshak decides to write them.

Tempting the Player is a beautiful end to this series of female friends. Yes, it keeps us at Valley U longer, and it entwines itself with Jenshak’s beloved hockey and football teams. But this sweet sentence near the end of the book, “a few weeks later, four wallflowers gather in the living room of their off-campus house,” brought feelings of nostalgia and felt like an homage to the oft-mentioned Pride and Prejudice (from this series) and Little Women. There is nothing better to read than four friends who support and love each other through the ups and downs of falling in love.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: J. Saman’s Irresistibly Risky ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A- / B+

Tropes: ONS to more; surprise baby; doctor/patient; workplace romance; found family; pro football romance; hate to love; insta-love

J. Saman’s Irresitibly Risky feels lighter than its predecessors even though its themes lean towards the serious. Two words: Asher Reyes. Saman’s MMC brings light into the dark of its FMC’s life.  Asher’s ability to win Wynter’s love acts as the driving force of Saman’s book, and it’s slid into the top spot of her Irresistibly Yours series. To be fair, I suspect that my favorite story will be the forthcoming one, Irresistibly Dangerous, with a broody hero such as Lenox, but that isn’t the point of this review.

Instead, Saman has wielded her pen to create a story where her MMC falls instantly for his FMC and spends much of it chasing her. This is the dream of many a romance reader: a “golden retriever” of a man who falls hard and fast and uses his riches and influence to win her heart. Women want to be pursued and adored, and Saman grants that wish in Irresistibly Risky. 

What I loved about the journey of her characters is Wynter’s path. Like Wynter, my biological father left my life with many questions and few answers. The pain of that experience forever marks your soul, and Saman has captured this through the difficulty of Wynter accepting Asher’s interest in and love for her. The juxtaposition of Asher’s easy adoration for Wynter with Wynter’s inability to accept his love for her creates tension that breeds a rabid need for their happy ending. I loved sitting in their tension even though I wanted Wynter to give her heart to Asher easily. But that wouldn’t be true for someone such as Wynter who gave her heart to the first man in her life, and he obliterated it. It’s difficult to give it away again because that pain never leaves you. Saman captures Wynter’s internal struggle well, and even if you become frustrated by her willingness to run from Asher, you at least understand it well because Saman draws it with skill.

The ups and downs of Irresistibly Risky and the underlying story behind Wynter’s father drive the story forward. I found one moment in the story where Saman should have provided more of the story because a gap was created. She didn’t acknowledge that pocket of time, and I wanted her characters’ actions. That moment is the reason for my lower grade; however, Wynter and Asher’s chemistry and story arcs make up for it. The inclusion of Asher’s found family, Zax, Greyson, Callan, and Lenox, as well as their respective significant others, adds humor and wisdom to its main characters, providing a reminder of the power of their connection to the entire series. 

J. Saman’s style is simple: she creates characters who set the pages on fire and make us fall in love with them. Irresistibly Risky is a perfect example of this.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Devney Perry’s The Brood, a Calamity Montana romance ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: grump/sunshine; loner MMC; small town romance; traveling FMC; forced proximity; age gap; best friend’s little sister

“If there was a woman who could will me to love her until my dying day, it was Iris.”

The Brood by Devney Perry is a captivating addition to the Calamity Montana series, featuring the enthralling romance between Wilder and Iris. Perry masterfully weaves the grumpy/sunshine trope into their story, creating a dynamic that is both heartwarming and electrifying.

One of the central themes of the novel revolves around the idea of finding one’s home in the heart of another. Wilder and Iris, two seemingly opposite souls, discover a profound connection that transcends their initial differences. The journey they embark on, as they learn to understand and cherish each other, is beautifully portrayed. Perry’s ability to convey the depth of their emotional bond is truly commendable.

Another poignant theme is the notion of self-forgiveness and moving forward. Both Wilder and Iris carry burdens from their pasts, and their struggle to come to terms with them is depicted with a raw and touching authenticity. The narrative explores the complexities of letting go, learning to forgive oneself, and embracing the possibility of a brighter future.

Unlike previous installments in the Calamity Montana series, Perry intentionally pulls back from incorporating the other characters, emphasizing Wilder’s solitary life before meeting Iris. This choice serves to underscore the profound impact Iris has on Wilder’s world, highlighting the transformative power of their love.

The emotional depth of The Brood is further heightened by Perry’s easy prose. The author has a knack for delving into the hearts and minds of her characters, allowing readers to feel every joy, every pain, and every moment of vulnerability. The intimate scenes between Wilder and Iris are charged with palpable chemistry, adding a steamy layer to their already intense connection.

Devney Perry’s ability to infuse a tale with such heartfelt emotion is a testament to her storytelling prowess. For fans of the grumpy/sunshine trope, this novel is an absolute must-read. The themes of finding a home in another and the power of self-forgiveness resonate long after the final page is turned. The Brood is a testament to the enduring magic of love and the capacity for redemption within us all.

In love and romance,

Professor A