Category: Review

Review, Smartypants Romance

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Aly Stiles’s Stage Smart ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: C

Y’all…I didn’t get it. If you’ve read my reviews, you know I give high scores on my books because 1) I’m careful who I read. Once I find an author I love, I keep reading them. There’s a reason for loving them. And 2) I view books as an author’s baby so I don’t get pleasure in completely trashing a book for the sake of clout or whatever. I guess there’s a third reason: it has to have fatal flaws with characterization or story/plot progression that I can’t get over to give it a low rating. 

But I struggled for the first time in the Smartypants Romance universe. I hate writing this review because I want to be fair, but Aly Stiles lost me with Stage Smart. I read Street Smart, Play Smart, and Look Smart, and I enjoyed those stories, but I think she tried too hard for the silly that she failed to fully develop the chemistry between Larinda and Val in a way that is believable. I will recognize that Aly Stiles is an insta-attraction/insta-relationship author. Through her other “smart” books, this wasn’t as pronounced as Stage Smart because I spent much of this book questioning Val and Larinda’s relationship. Even as a forbidden/secret relationship romance, I kept asking “why.” 

I’m also over Chad Smith and Sandeke Telecom/Reedweather Media’s ineptitude. It’s time to move away from it or shade it in a different color because I wanted to love Stage Smart, but I just couldn’t.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Louise Bay’s Dr. Single Dad

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Overall Grade: B

Tropes: single dad; nanny; cinnamon roll hero; grump/sunshine; forced proximity; insta-attraction; slow burn; forbidden

Louise Bay’s The Doctor Series, which follows various family members as they chase dreams and the women they love, culminates in Dr. Single Dad. This book is one of my favorites of the series because Bay has drawn her characters, Dax and Eira, into likable characters who you cannot help but cheer on and celebrate. For me, this is the strength of this story: Dax and Eira, along with Dax’s family, are engaging characters. The struggles of this story are the development of Dax and Eira’s chemistry and subsequent relationship. Yes, this is a slow burn, but it isn’t the type of slow burn that tortures its reader. Once Bay has brought Dax and Eira together, she allows them to accept their attraction. However, the challenge of this story is the unevenness of Dax’s rendering. At the start, Bay has crafted Dax to be driven and career-focused. However, he comes across as almost a spectrum character with few feelings. Yes, Eira, as his nanny, draws those feelings out of him, but it’s a quick flip of the switch, and he’s an entirely different character in one moment. This seemed too sudden, making it difficult to believe their story arc. I would have liked to see Eira melt his personality in smaller measures while continuing to build their attraction, and Bay had the space to do this. Even more, she made an interesting choice, granted an ethical one for her characters, but I felt it broke up the forward motion of her plot. I thought the plot jumped the shark a bit. 

All of that to say, that, overall, I enjoyed reading Dr. Single Dad. Eira’s capacity for humanizing Dax and their eventual happily ever after with the background of Dax’s family make for an engaging read.

In love and romance,


Professor A

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Pippa Grant’s Until It Was Love

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes: enemies to lovers; hate to love; brother’s teammate; sports romance; soulmates; grumpy/sunshine; fake dating

Pippa Grant and her ilk (Penny Reid, for example) have this innate ability to both make you giggle and tear up in equal measure. A cornerstone of Grant’s romance is incorporating animals that either bring her MMCs and FMCs together or wreak havoc in an adorable way throughout her stories. You pick it up and think, “this will be light reading” only to be hit with the power and emotion of the overall message. In her newest book, Until It Was Love, Pippa Grant charms us immediately with the enemies to lovers’ banter of her characters, Goldie and Fletcher. Even though we aren’t present at their meet-cute, a time from their past that was less about falling in love and more about falling into hate…at least for Goldie, Grant begins their present with a meet-cute that entails Fletcher fainting after he donates blood and falling on top of Goldie, as she tries to save him from hurting himself from the fall. This, of course, follows her internal dialogue about his unfortunate mustache, a foible that mars his face. Only these actions can be found in a story from a writer such as Grant who entices her readers with some silliness, only to hit her readers over the head with a helping of spice (she’s more of a 3 chili pepper writer) and an emotional torrent. Honestly, it makes for a compelling read because you’re never quite sure if you will laugh at the ridiculousness of her characters’ behavior or cry at their heartbreak. 

All of this is wrapped up in Until It Was Love. I couldn’t put this book down, and I loved the adventures of Goldie and Fletcher. Goldie hates Fletcher, realizes she misunderstood him, uses him to fake date as a means to frustrate her brother, shows us the pain of her past, becomes enamored with Fletcher, struggles with the challenge of leaving town while falling in love with him, and learns to love her life in the small town of her youth.  Fletcher must learn to love and trust himself again, and Grant writes his pain in ways that make you commiserate with him. Pippa Grant owned me with this book, and she reminded me why I adore her stories. There is just something deeper under the surface of stories. 

If you want to be entertained, engaged, and enticed, Pippa Grant’s Until It Was Love is EXACTLY the story you need right now.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Jessica Peterson’s I Wish We Had Forever, the final book of her Harbour Village series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-

Tropes: brother’s best friend; best friend’s sister; small town; unrequited until it’s not; fated/soulmates; opposites attract; fake marriage

Jessica Peterson’s I Wish We Had Forever is the perfect exclamation point to a series that has stolen the hearts of many, including mine. A story in her Harbour Village series, her newest book tells the story of Abel, the friend of the heroes in the first two books of the series, and Jen, the younger sister of Tuck from book 2. Peterson has crafted a narrative that delves deep into the emotional struggles of two souls meant to be more, but Abel’s past and family have taught him that he “isn’t enough” for Jen. The tension between Abel’s clear love and attraction for Jen and his reticence to pursue her for something more is a heart-wrenching journey. You want to reach into the story and comfort him, telling him he is worthy of Jen’s brand of “good girl” love. Peterson uses the character of Abel to incite your emotions because his denial is painful to endure at times. 

The heat of the book comes from Jen’s willingness to accept his idea of a fake marriage. In fact, this is one of Peterson’s steamiest since Abel likes it rough and dirty. When Jen and Abel decide to get it out of their system, it lights the pages on fire. Peterson vacillates between their $exfest and their emotional entanglement. 

Thankfully, I Wish We Had Forever has the Harbour Village crew to add dimension to Abel and Jen’s story. From the tension between Tuck and Abel to the fatherly advice of Tuck and Jen’s father, Joe, readers find themselves on a roller coaster of emotions. As Joe shows Abel the truth about himself, he recognizes that he has loved and will always love Jen, mitigating their final coupleship. For me, Joe and Abel’s talk was the impetus for my tears in this story because Abel just wants to love and be loved by the love of his life. 

Jessica Peterson’s I Wish I Had Forever provides the perfect ending to her Harbour Village series. It stands as a powerful testament that love, when given a chance, can conquer our pasts and set us up for a beautiful future. It’s a beacon of hope, reminding us that love has the power to heal and transform, if we simply allow it.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Nine Month Contract ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: small town; surrogate/baby daddy; mountain man MMC; found family; age gap; grumpy/sunshine; breeding kink; curvy FMC

If you’ve ever met Amy Daws, her self-effacing, almost humble, humorous vibe is her charm. You can’t help but like Amy Daws on meeting her, and I’ve only done so at a book signing, not the best place to get to know someone. Yet, after reading Nine Month Contract, her newest book after a bit of a break, you can’t help but feel that charm threaded through her pages. Daws’s voice is likable and connective. As you read Nine Month Contract, she draws you in with the same humor she exudes in person, but she wallops you emotionally with the sentimentality of her characters. 

I found myself charmed by Nine Month Contract because her characters, Wyatt and Trista, are consumable. That’s a strange word to use for her characters, but Daws has drawn them so that you can’t help but want to know them. Trista is the heart of this book. She’s alone in the world, having never had a family to love her unconditionally. She loves animals who’ve lost their home because she recognizes herself in them. Daws has crafted her foil in Wyatt, a grumpy, gruff mountain man, ready to become a single dad and live out his days building sustainable houses and raising a child. Where Trista is sunny, Wyatt is the opposite, and it creates a pool of deliciousness that you’d love to bathe in. From their meeting, it’s clear that Daws has written rom-com gold. The sharp banter, the inciting chemistry, and the push and pull of their ethical dilemma draw you into the book. The silliness of their situation, coupled with Wyatt’s need to protect and care for Trista from almost a caveman-like place, adds more layers of romance heaven to this story. 

Add to all of this Wyatt’s supportive, but emotionally complicated family. The Fletchers do not have easy relationships per se, but they love each other. Daws uses them to bind Trista and Wyatt’s story together. One of my favorite tropes is the found family especially when a main character lacks that for themselves. The emotional tether of Trista finding a family to love her without any measure is my favorite part of this book, and Amy Daws, who can write humor and banter well, writes Trista’s journey to finding a family to love her unconditionally calls to your emotions. In using the point of view of Wyatt’s niece, Everly, Daws underscores that task even more. 

As I said before, I was charmed by Amy Daws’s Nine Month Contract. I had loved Last on the List, book 5 of her Wait with Me series and the launcher for this new series, but a protective Wyatt falling in love with a beautiful, but lonely Trista was exactly what I needed to be reminded that 1) Amy Daws is a heck of a romance author and 2) her rom-coms are pure heaven.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Kristen Ashley’s Avenging Angel ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Two truths are self-evident about Kristen Ashley and her brand of romance: she writes the found family trope better than just about everyone, and she is the queen of writing a girl gang. Over and over again, whether it’s the Rock Chicks, her Dream Team ladies, or MC babes, Ashley wins her readers over with the characteristics of her writing that matter to her readers: community and depth of storytelling. Her latest book, Avenging Angel, of her spinoff Rock Chicks series, Avenging Angel, is no different. If you’ve read her Rock Chick/Hot Bunch series or her Dream Team series, you’ve read this story before: quirky, independent FMC, attractive, protective MMC, and a plot infused with past characters, suspenseful moments, and pure romance. Avenging Angel is no different. Well, except that it is in a way. 

Reading Avenging Angel was like going home after a long stay away. Ashley recognizes the interests of her readers, and the Rock Chicks/Hot Bunch/Dream Team have been her bread and butter, so to speak. While she has written several novels in that series, there are beloved characters, the next generation, that have piqued the curiosity of her fan base. Sniff aka Julien Jackson aka Cap has found keen interest from readers. To grant us access to his story, set it in Phoenix (also connecting us to her River Rain series…), and bring back characters such as Mace, Lee, and the rest of the Hot Bunch, is a dream to many of us, her dedicated readers. Here’s where Ashley deviated with this story, where I think she has listened to readers or read reviews. It can be hard to accept a true alpha hero today. Some might consider it toxic masculinity. While she could write that type of hero ten or so years ago, it’s a hard pill to swallow today. This is where her genius lies with this new series. Julien (“Cap”) has learned from the best: the Hot Bunch but also his adopted mother, Shirleen. As such, Ashley gifts us with a modern-day hero, one who is both protective and possessive but also acknowledges and respects Rachel aka Raye’s choices. Cap and Raye work together acknowledging each other’s strengths and personal choices. We can still fall in love with Cap’s want to protect Raye, while also recognizing her autonomy and authority. This reads like growth in these beloved Kristen Ashley universes. And I’m here for it. 

Even more, Ashley has gifted us with more of her universe. The rest of the Angels are coming, Tito and Tex as protective father figures, and the potential for connections to the River Rain gang means an opportunity for more stories like Cap and Raye’s. The overall story behind this series, a dangerous element threatening the local community, is the thread between the books. Ashley’s focus on the plight of $ex workers and human trafficking lends gravity to her newest romance. Her allusion to Charlie’s Angels makes for a titillating read especially if you were raised on Kelly Garrett, Jill Munroe, and Sabrina Duncan. These were women who were both beautiful and intelligent. And this is the foundation of Kristen Ashley’s Avenging Angel series. In 2024, a romance such as this one is needed, showcasing the strength of women with men at their backs to support their choices. 

Thank you, Kristen, for reminding me, once again, why your stories are supreme. Avenging Angel did not disappoint. It holds all the best of the Rock Chick/Hot Bunch world with its own signature of female authority and power.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Meghan Quinn’s Bridesmaid for Hire ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A- / B+

Tropes: one bed/forced proximity; brother’s best friend; best friend’s little sister; fake relationship

Do you ever start reading a book because you want to escape life? You find yourself lost in the pages, both laughing and crying in equal measure. Meghan Quinn’s Bridesmaid for Hire is the type of book to deliver you from the doldrums of life. Maggie, the best friend of Hattie, the FMC of The Way I Hate Him, is the FMC for this story, and I am so thankful Meghan Quinn found a space for her. Quinn has a way of writing characters’ misfortunes that will make you belly-laugh. Unfortunately, Brody, the MMC and best friend of Maggie’s brother, Gary, is the target in BFH. Everything that can go wrong for Brody, does, and it makes the reader laugh out loud. 

One of the challenges of this book is building the chemistry between Maggie and Brody. And quite frankly, it takes some time to accept their attraction to each other. Meghan Quinn spends much of the first two-thirds of the story building the back story for Brody wooing his boss so that, at times, Maggie and Brody’s burgeoning attraction can get lost. Eventually, after some serious hardships and mishaps, Brody and Maggie find their stride, only to have Quinn upend their path forward. Thankfully, Meghan Quinn knows how to craft a happy ending for her characters, and Maggie and Brody find theirs. However, Quinn leaves her readers until almost the very end for that gift. 

Meghan Quinn’s Bridesmaid for Hire is the book that will save you from the stress of life. Honestly, I laughed out loud so many times at Brody’s misfortunes that I hated for the book to end. This is Quinn’s superpower: finding humor in the midst of a difficult world. 

In love and romance,

Professor A

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Skye Warren’s The Professor ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B / B-

Tropes: student/teacher; interconnected series of standalones: forbidden; romantic suspense

Any time Skye Warren announces she’s returning to her storied Tanglewood, I’m in. The dark romances wrought from this universe have been some of my first and favorite romances. When she announced a spin-off series set at Tanglewood U, I jumped for joy. Like her earlier stories in Tanglewood, I found myself engrossed in the “cat and mouse” chase of Professor Stratford and Anne Hill. As with her other romances, The Professor is sensual and erotic. There is a darkness underpinning Anne’s journey to know herself. Warren guides us through their story through the POV of Anne which automatically makes her an unreliable narrator. This affords Skye Warren a surprise ending that leaves us on a cliffhanger and the promise of more in her next book. 

Here are my criticisms:

  1. I need Warren to stop writing trilogies. I don’t know her direction, but I often feel like her stories would work as duets. 
  2. There are places in the stories where the editor missed continuity issues as though scenes had been removed and the remaining scenes were spliced together. The story is not seamless.

Skye Warren has a craftsmanship issue, and I believe her stories could be stronger with a better editor. However, her storytelling entices me enough that I want more stories from her. I need to understand Professor Stratford’s real motivations; I need Anne to bring him to his knees and stand in her power; and I need another HEA for another couple in the Tanglewood world. It may take her three books to do so, but she always leaves us with exactly what we need in the end. I’m certain The Professor is simply a step in that direction.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Adriana Locke’s This Much Is True, the next Marshall Family series romance ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

There are two things I know: Adriana Locke can continue to write small-town romance and second-chance romance, and this reader will be content. Her latest book, This Much Is True, showcases her strengths in crafting these types of stories. She invests us in Laina and Luke’s enduring love, fraught with misunderstandings, misgivings, and feelings of inadequacy. At the core, though, Locke has written two characters who mutually respect and love each other. What this gifts her readers is a story to get lost in. As Laina stands in her authority, making choices that benefit her, you cannot help but cheer her on. She is loveable, albeit naive to her father’s management of her life. And Luke is fun-loving, but also serious. He becomes her protector and confidante, drawing them together. Locke sprinkles spice throughout their story, but it never borders on smut or detracts from their evolution. The tension of This Much Is True is mild, never devolving into anything too angsty. 

Adriana Locke’s version of romance feels like a warm blanket on a cold day. This Much Is True is a promise, a reminder that romance can be so many different things, but in the end, it leaves us filled with hope. That’s the gift Adriana Locke offers her readers with each of her stories.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Laurelin Paige’s Brutal Arrangement ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Laurelin Paige’s Brutal Arrangement is a romantic interrogation of old-moneyed family dynamics set against the world of popular music. As Paige has so deftly done with the other stories in this series, we are treated to erotic tension between a Sebastian and his brother’s former girlfriend, turned fake relationship. Paige is a queen of spicy romance, making nothing off limits between her characters. The tension between Riah and Alex in Brutal Arrangement engages the reader and draws us into this world of familial machinations. As I read this story, I listened to Alex’s brother’s story, Brutal Secret. What compels me to continue to read about these privileged billionaires is the realization that family trauma is the cornerstone of the Sebastian family. These stories interrogate the older generation’s stilted politics in the face of the younger generation’s message of “can’t we all just get along.” I find this compelling. In Brutal Arrangement, Riah and Alex’s journey ahead against the stricture of Alex’s brother Hunter’s machinations makes for an exciting read. Every step forward for Riah and Alex is met with complications, creating tension throughout most of the story. I love how these Sebastian men fall hard for their FMCs, ameliorating their power and laying it at the feet of an FMC such as Riah or any of the former FMCs in this series. I am most excited for Adly’s story, teased in Brutal Arrangement. 

Laurelin Paige proves once again that she writes the “heck” out of a billionaire romance. Whether it’s the guys from Reach, Hudson Pierce, Edward Fasbender, or any of the Sebastians, you know a dirty, difficult road ahead leads to a wallop of a happy ending. What I find the most intriguing of Paige’s newest books is her capacity to write alpha-hole MMCs while testing the autonomy and authority of the women in her books. I’m ready for more of the Sebastian family.

In love and romance,

Professor A