new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: L.B. Dunbar’s Sterling Brick ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: B

Tropes/Characteristics: standalone in an interconnected series; high school sweethearts; single mom FMC; second chance romance; small town romance; cinnamon roll MMC

L.B. Dunbar’s second book in her Sterling Falls series, Sterling Brick, is Hallmark romance-worthy with a huge helping of steam. This is the Hallmark story you wished you could watch on your television. Dunbar has written an evolving, emotional story about high school sweethearts who reunite in their hometown of Sterling Falls. She’s a divorcee, single mom of two kids, and he’s a volunteer firefighter, brick-laying man with his eyes set on winning the woman he’s never gotten over. Dunbar creates a driving story filled with reticent attraction, eventual forgiveness, and fated lovers finding their forever. Sterling Brick is everything you love about romance: happily ever afters in the midst of the difficulties of real life. 

Dunbar puts her MMC, Knox, and her FMC, Halle, through their paces which allows for the healing necessary for their eventual future. However, it also causes the story to drag at times, creating repetitious dialogue and actions as Halle struggles to forgive Knox’s early adulthood choices and Knox struggles to forgive himself. Honestly, the first half of the book is working through this emotional entanglement, and I found myself drifting away from their story. Once, Knox and Halle forgive the choices of their past, the book moves forward at a better pace. I would have pushed them along faster to retain the readers’ focus.

Dunbar is a masterful storyteller, utilizing a variety of metaphors to encapsulate Knox and Halle’s struggles. I would, however, like to see her avoid being so “on the nose” with them, i.e. Knox’s nickname/call sign is “Brick,” and there is dialogue about Halle building her life “brick by brick.” Dunbar has more skill than choices like that. With that said, she has written some moving moments about personal growth and the journey forward. I appreciate how Dunbar has written Halle’s relationship with her children, Violet and Tim. Even more, she’s drawn Halle in such a way that she’s strengthened by her love for Knox. It allows her to slowly stand in her own power with Knox as a support, not the only support. 

Overall, I enjoyed Sterling Brick, and I love how this series of siblings is shaping up. Entwining their stories within the supportive, but complicated small-town world of Sterling Falls makes it easy to fall in love with these characters, and L.B. Dunbar’s voice continues to shine with her silver fox romances.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Cover Reveal

✍🏻 I know I should say I LOVE the male cover for Penelope Ward’s The Surrogate, but it’s the discrete cover that actually has me swooning! ✍🏻

professorromance
Title: The Surrogate
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Age Gap/Widower/Found Family
Forbidden/Enemies to Friends to Lovers
Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
Release Date: February 26, 2024
BLURB
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE novel…
ABBY:
I’m falling for the father of the baby I’m carrying.
The problem is: it’s not my baby.
And the broody widower is not looking for a long-term partner.
As a surrogate, the deal was that I’d only be in England long enough to give birth.
At first, the man seemed as pretentious as his name: Sigmund Benedictus.
He and I butted heads.
Sig challenged my intentions, accused me of just wanting to do this for the money.
Gradually, he learned to trust me.
He even became protective.
Over time, our heated animosity turned into fiery chemistry.
I was falling in love with him.
But my time here had a limit.
I needed to protect my heart from the devastatingly gorgeous older man who’d end up breaking it.
SIG:

When my in-laws told me they wanted to use my dead wife’s eggs to conceive a grandchild, I wasn’t immediately on board.
They swore that on her deathbed Britney told them it was what she wanted—but only if I fathered the baby. Her parents insisted they would be the ones to raise it.
Against my better judgment, I agreed.
I vowed to keep my heart out of it, though.
I’d continue to pretend it wasn’t happening and live the empty, single life I’d become accustomed to the past five years since Britney died.
And despite the fact that a certain younger American named Abby Knickerbocker had awakened things inside me that I thought were long dead…
I most certainly wouldn’t fall in love with the surrogate.
PRE-ORDER LINKS
**No Amazon e-book preorder.
Both the Kindle version and man-cover paperback will go live on/around release day. 
The current paperback preorder is for the special-edition cover only.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
AGE GAP
WIDOWER
BRITISH HERO
FOUND FAMILY
SLOW BURN
FORBIDDEN
ENEMIES-TO-FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS
AUTHOR BIO
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
AUTHOR LINKS
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
SEE MORE BOOKS HERE
Cover Reveal

✍🏻 A.L. Jackson’s Claim Me Forever is coming in February! Look at these gorgeous covers, and preorder your copy of it today! ✍🏻

professorromance

A.L. Jackson has revealed the gorgeous covers for

Claim Me Forever!

Releasing: February 20, 2024

Cover Designer: RBA Designs

Photographer: @lanefotograf

A single dad sheriff doing his best to protect his town. A gorgeous stranger caught trespassing. A love never expected…

So, it turns out the town sheriff is a total cinnamon roll. A big, burly, grumpy, hot as sin, cinnamon roll. He found me hiding out on private property. Trespassing. I lied and told him I was only there because I was out of cash and had to sleep in my car.

I thought he’d give me a ticket and send me on my way.

Instead, he insisted that I stay at his guest house—right next door to him and his three kids.

I know better than to let them get close. I’ve been betrayed too many times to put my trust in anyone.

Too bad the air crackles every time he comes near, and I feel like I’m going to burn up every time I look at him.

All it takes is one reckless night to completely spiral into the bliss of the man and his big, capable hands. One dinner with his little family to completely fall.

Only I never told him why I really came to Time River. Now I have to choose to trust him with my secret before it’s too late for both of us…

Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://geni.us/CMFAmznOP

Signed Copies & Collector’s Bundles: https://geni.us/CMFSignedCopies

Cover Reveal Giveaway: https://geni.us/CMFCoverRevealGiveaway     

Audio Pre-order: Coming Soon!

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3uJjeBT

Meet A.L. Jackson 

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

Connect with A.L. Jackson

Website: www.aljacksonauthor.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5784542.A_L_Jackson

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/A-L-Jackson/e/B007RK7ZOU/

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Text “ALJACKSON” to 33222

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Karla Sorensen’s Head Over Heels ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: A

Tropes/Characteristics: opposites attract; cinnamon roll MMC; city girl stuck in a small town FMC; found family

“I wasn’t trying to change who she was; I just wanted her to trust me with the parts she kept hidden.”

Karla Sorensen’s newest book, Head Over Heels, is a treasure. I’ve been marinating on it since I finished it because she did something special with this story. This book continues to follow the Wilder family. We’ve met the first of these siblings in her books, The Plan, The Crush, and One and Only. I have delighted in the emotionally wrought stories in these books. But something important is happening in Head Over Heels, and I believe this is one of Sorensen’s best books. Let me try to find the words to tell you why I loved it so much.

  1. Her FMC, Ivy, is a complicated character. She is like a crab: she has a soft underbelly with a hard outer shell. This isn’t her doing; she was raised this way. Her journey involves recognizing that vulnerability is not weakness; it’s actually a way to connect with people who want to love you. Sorensen has drawn her in such a beautiful way that you can’t help but see her unraveling and reveling in it. Her journey into feeling her emotions and sharing them underscores an important part of this book: intimacy. 
  2. The manner in which Sorensen approaches the depiction of intimacy is impeccable. In reflecting on how romance authors create intimacy between two characters, it’s often charged and grounded in $ex. However, Sorensen builds Ivy and Cameron’s intimacy and, by extension, vulnerability with each other quietly. It’s nuanced, and it’s built with actions. As Ivy’s journey moves her further into acknowledging her feelings, had Cameron spoken directly of his feelings for her, it would have ground their burgeoning to a halt. Instead, Cameron builds a relationship with her through his quiet actions. When I think of Head Over Heels, these moments steal my breath. Her characters don’t need to speak their feelings; instead, they know them because the actions are present. I found it built a foundation in the book that made it easy for Ivy to eventually accept she loves Cameron. There’s a quietude in that realization, and it makes you feel as though you’re wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.
  3. Head Over Heels doesn’t have a predictable happy ending. Instead, Sorensen leaves us with a happy-for-now ending. We can decide that, given some final choices by Ivy, they will have a happy ending, but they have peace in the now without needing the predictability of marriage and babies (although it’s hinted at in the story). I found I enjoyed this ending. It feels different from other romance books that want to wrap up the story in a red bow of a wedding ceremony and pregnancies. We don’t know the exact nature of Ivy and Cameron’s future; instead, Sorensen shows us that, at this moment, they are ridiculously happy.
  4. Lastly, and one of my favorite parts of this story is Cameron’s ability to love Ivy just as she is. This is a common message in romancelandia, but Sorensen has written it so that it steals your breath. He truly accepts her self-protection and struggle with vulnerability. He simply lets her be and loves her through it. A cinnamon roll hero, he is. 

Karla Sorensen continues to grace her readers with emotional, compelling stories. Head Over Heels gifts us with more entrance into the compelling Wilder family. You will need tissues for this story, but you will also end it with hope. I am so thankful for a writer such as Karla who grants me access to a world of small-town love and family.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Karla Sorensen’s Head Over Heels is one of my top reads of 2024. This story is an emotional, gorgeous read that has left me with a huge book hangover. It’s now LIVE! Don’t miss this one. ✍🏻

professorromance

HEAD OVER HEELS

Karla Sorensen

Release Date: January 24

FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED

There’s only one course of action when your dad wants you to marry a clammy-handed wimp to make one of his board members happy—you get yourself stuck in an elevator with a hot stranger and have the steamiest make-out session of your life. Years of etiquette lessons went out the window thanks to Cameron Wilder, who managed to unleash my hidden bad girl with naught but his talented mouth and deliciously rough hands.

Afterwards, he went back to his small-town life, and I marched home to inform my dad there would be no business-centric nuptials. As punishment, he shipped me off to Sisters, Oregon and demanded I turn a healthy profit on a not-so-healthy property.

You see where I’m going with this—the buttoned-up city girl stuck in a small town hires a local builder to help her … and he’s the hot stranger from the elevator. Turns out, I have a weakness for the broad-shouldered nice guy who’s not so nice behind closed doors. Keeping things professional gets harder the longer I’m in town, until the only lesson I have left to learn is how to keep both our hearts from getting broken.

Grab Your Copy!

https://amzn.to/47vuHnt

Meet Karla Sorensen:

Karla Sorensen is an Amazon top 20 bestselling author who refuses to read or write anything without a happily ever after. When she’s not devouring historical romance or avoiding the laundry, you can find her watching football (British AND American), HGTV or listening to Enneagram podcasts so she can psychoanalyze everyone in her life, in no particular order of importance. With a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Grand Valley State University, she made her living in senior healthcare prior to writing full-time. Karla lives in Michigan with her husband, two boys and a big, shaggy rescue dog named Bear.

Keep up with Karla Sorensen and subscribe to her newsletter: http://www.karlasorensen.com/newsletter

To learn more about Karla Sorensen & her books, visit here!

Connect with Karla Sorensen:

http://www.karlasorensen.com/message

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Cover Reveal

✍🏻 The Reason I Married Him is coming SOON! Ever since I fell in love with The Way I Hate Him, the first book of this series, I have been WAITING for this story. This cover is exactly what I need on this Hump Day!✍🏻

professorromance

From USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author Meghan Quinn, comes a new marriage of convenience romantic comedy. This steamy, laugh out loud, enemies-to-lovers small town standalone delivers the perfect happily ever after. Releasing February 6th in all formats, check out the cover and sneak peek below and pre-order your copy today!

https://mybook.to/TheReasonIMarriedHim

About THE REASON I MARRIED HIM (Coming 2/6/2024):

He proposed . . . and I said yes.
Normally a jovial occasion for a couple in love, but this proposal has a very different feel.
Because the man that I’ll be calling my husband blew into town with one thing on his mind . . . to make my life a living nightmare.

So why did I say yes?

Well, because we both need something from each other.

Namely, I want the farm land he currently owns, and he needs a wife in order to inherit his family cabin in his grandfather’s will.

So as he so eloquently put it, my hand, for his land.

At first, I thought the idea was nuts.
Who really gets married out of convenience?
Apparently, I do.

And now we have to sell our relationship to the town. Meaning, we’re holding hands, he’s pinching my cheeks . . . upper and lower. We’re even forced to share the one-bedroom guest house on the farm where his monstrous body is taking up a large percentage of the bed.

But we’re so persuasive about our farse, that now I’m starting to think he actually might like me. Especially when he grabs me by the wrist and teases the shell of my ear as he whispers, “Mine.”

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

https://mybook.to/TheReasonIMarriedHim

Get your sneak peek here!

“See,” he says as he turns toward me. “I am helpful on the farm.”

“Never said you weren’t helpful,” I reply as I cast the room into darkness by turning off my light. “Just that you don’t have to be on the farm every day.”

“What if I like being on the farm every day?” he asks as his fingers dance down my arm, creating a wave of goosebumps.

“Well, I mean . . . that’s, uh . . . that’s up to you,” I say as a blast of nerves hit me all at once . . . because I know what’s coming.

I know what we’ve been developing over the past few nights.

The intensity has grown.

The countdown in my head until I can slip into bed with him has kicked up.

And today, when I was washing my face and getting ready for bed, I realized that this light, airy feeling in my chest was the anticipation of how he might kiss me tonight.

“Well, I like being on the farm.” He dances his fingers down to my wrist where he encircles it and then slowly lifts my hand over my head and pins my wrist to the pillow. “I saw you looking at me through the office window.”

“What?” I say breathlessly as he lowers his head. “No . . . no, I wasn’t.”

“Darn,” he says with a devilish grin. “I was hoping to catch you. You didn’t watch me at all?”

“I, uh . . .” He brings his face so close our noses are nearly touching. “I was, um . . .” I wet my lips. “Working.”

“Maybe next time,” he says and then whispers. “Well, good night, Aubree.”

“G-good night,” I say just before his mouth descends on mine.

At first, he’s soft, exploratory, just like last night, but when I think he’s going to pull away, he applies more pressure as his mouth opens.

His body leans into mine.

And his mouth opens and closes along with mine, causing my mind to reel and my body to sing.

It’s so good.

His kisses are so delicious.

So addictive.

I cup his face softly and mold my lips against his, parting my lips as his tongue connects with mine.

Oh yes.

My grip intensifies as I take a chance and slip my tongue against his.

He mutters something as he pulls away and stares down at me, his chest heavy, his eyes searching.

I run my tongue over my lips as I keep my gaze on his. “That . . . uh, was that okay?”

“Yeah, more than okay,” he says right before he brings his mouth back to mine. This time, his body sinks into my side, the heaviness of it now falling into me like a weighted blanket. He parts my lips again, and his tongue dances across my tongue, tangling and twisting, our mouths opening wider.

He’s so good at this.

His command, his pressure, the feel of him holding me in place but also treating me as if I’m fragile. It’s unlike any kiss I’ve ever experienced. And I don’t want it to end.

It’s why I move my hand to the back of his neck.

It’s why I shift, making more room for him.

It’s why I continue to run my tongue over his, causing him to groan softly as he returns the stroke.

This is unexpected, but it’s also what I thought might happen tonight. Because the tension every night has been building. The kisses have grown. And now that he has me pinned against this bed, making out with me, using his tongue, making me feel things I don’t think I’ve ever felt, I’m slowly starting to melt.

To accept this.

To be okay with it.

To want it.

Stella Hunter and Aaron Shedlock narrate in duet this sexy, marriage of convenience romance. THE REASON I MARRIED HIM will be released on February 6th in a live release on Audible!

ABOUT MEGHAN QUINN:

USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

Never miss another NEW RELEASE, text READ to 474747.

Connect w/ Meghan:

Website: https://authormeghanquinn.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meghanquinnbooks/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Cover Reveal

✍🏻 I’ll take any reason to return to Skye Warren’s Tanglewood. Check out the cover for her forthcoming story, The Professor! ✍🏻

professorromance

Skye Warren has revealed the gorgeous cover for The Professor!

Releasing: March 26, 2024

Money for textbooks? I’d get it from a single night with a handsome stranger. No one would ever have to know how much I loved what he did to me.

On the first day of class, I realize he’s my new professor.

And my ex-boyfriend’s father.

THE PROFESSOR is a forbidden romance with a secret society starting a brand new series written by New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren.

Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://a.co/d/iBo1gr3

Amazon Worldwide: https://bit.ly/48yz6Xe

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3HjsU9g

Nook: https://bit.ly/3ShXKWi

Kobo: https://bit.ly/48ZIdQw

Google Play: Coming Soon!

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3S0ltZA

Meet Skye

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance such as the Endgame trilogy. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. Her books have sold over ​two million copies.​ She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, sweet dogs, and evil cat.

Connect with Skye

Website: http://www.skyewarren.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5339130.Skye_Warren

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BX2sUG

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyewarren/

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new release

✍🏻 You can absolutely read Kristen Ashley’s Rock Chick Rematch as a standalone. However, the beauty of this story comes if you read the series. Malia and Darius are soulmates GOLD!✍🏻

professorromance

Life cut him down, she remained.

Rock Chick Rematch, a Rock Chick novella from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley, is now live!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Ashley brings a new story in her Rock Chick series…

In high school, Malia Clark found the man of her dreams.

Darius Tucker.

But life hits them full in the face way before it ever should. Darius makes a drastic decision to keep his family safe and Malia leaves town with a secret.

When Malia returns, she seeks Darius to share all, but Darius finds out before she can tell him. At the same time, she finds out just how much Darius has changed in the years she’s been away.

She just refuses to give up on him.

Until he forces her hand.

Secrets come between Malia and Darius, at the same time Malia has to worry about weird things going on at the law firm where she works, her kid wants a car and she’s stuck in slow-cooker hell. Luckily, her ride or dies have her back.
And in the meantime, she might just learn she never should have lost hope in Darius Tucker.

Grab your copy today, exclusively on Amazon!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/48IaPhT
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/rockchickrematch
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/46a0p8W

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/473F4yW

Keep reading for a look inside Rock Chick Rematch!

I’d wanted to be a lawyer.
But life was tough with a curious two-year-old, even if my mom and dad and sister and all the aunties and uncles and cousins pitched in to help me out.
I needed to keep my nose clean.
And I needed to stay away from Darius Tucker.
Everyone told me he’d turned to the dark side.
However, I thought it was time. It was time he shook himself out of this garbage.
It was time he learned he had a child and had to step up.
It was time three years ago, but I’d been young and scared and hurt, so I’d made an emotional decision and my parents had stepped in to support and protect me.
Off I went to Fort Collins.
Now I was back.
So, yeah.
It was time.

For More Information about Kristen Ashley, visit her website:
https://www.kristenashley.net/

For More Information about 1001 Dark Nights, visit:
Website: https://www.1001darknights.com/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3ONzTtZ
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**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Kristen Ashley’s Rock Chick Rematch, a 1001 Dark Nights/Blue Box Press novella in the Rock Chicks Universe ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: A

Tropes/Characteristics: soulmates; morally gray MMC; single mom; standalone in an interconnected series; found family

I didn’t realize how much I needed to read Kristen Ashley’s Rock Chick Rematch. If you’ve read her Rock Chicks series, Darius Tucker is the silent yet present, morally gray character who keeps on giving to the resolution of trepidatious situations. Yet, until now, his story along with his soulmate, Malia’s, has been unknown. Reading Rock Chick Rematch was like returning home after a long time away. Unlike many of my fellow Rock Chicks, I don’t do an annual re-read of Ashley’s stories. That’s simply because her book list is so prolific that I find myself working through it still after beginning to read her a year and a half ago. Even more, whether you are reading one of her novellas from 1001 Dark Nights/Blue Box Press or independently published full novels, Ashley treats her readers to a full meal of story. I can’t tell you the number of times I leave a novella wanting more. This isn’t the case with Rock Chick Rematch; instead, she gifts you a story between two long-suffering, but deeply-in-love characters who receive the happiest of endings. It has everything you love about the Rock Chicks and the Hot Bunch: an undying love, an MMC who protects beyond any measure of his own happiness, and a quirky, but independent FMC who keeps him and his “brothers” on their toes. 

What did I love about Rock Chick Rematch?

  • Malia is fierce. Kristen Ashley knows that you can’t gain entry into the Rock Chick world unless you can go toe to toe with a possessive, alpha-male Hot Bunch guy. I love strong female characters, and Kristen Ashley’s portrait of Malia and the Rock Chicks is exactly that. While Malia doesn’t know herself when she’s young, she figures it out quickly, and she doesn’t suffer fools, namely Darius. In fact, my only disappointment was how quickly she forgives Darius for a secret, and I understand this is a novella so KA has only so much space to write this story. However, I felt Malia’s pain and hurt, and I wanted her to revel in it a bit more. Even more, I wanted it seen and acknowledged more by the participants in that secret. Kristen Ashley has written a saint in Malia.
  • I loved Darius’s journey. That we are gifted his story is a treasure. My favorite moments of Rock Chick Rematch are Malia’s realization that Darius has become the best of his father. I won’t divulge more details, but Darius’s swooniness comes through his need to protect and care for Malia and their son, Liam. A morally gray character is always one of my favorites, and Darius has taken a top 10 spot of morally gray romance heroes for me after this book. 
  • The reunion with the Rock Chicks and Hot Bunch. This is the sweet cream of this story. If you’ve read this series from Kristen Ashley, you know that it never lets go. It sticks to your ribs forever. Being granted the opportunity to return to it, to recognize the parallels of other stories as Kristen Ashley divulges Malia and Darius’s story is the thing that will make bubbles in your soul. Everyone is here. Everyone. And there’s a nod to the future. For me, this is Kristen Ashley’s superpower: developing her universe and allowing us continued access to it even when a particular world seems closed. She knows her reader fans, and she gifts us stories such as Rock Chick Rematch constantly, earning our undying love.

Rock Chick Rematch is all caps DIVINE. I inhaled this story of lost love and love regained. I am so thankful to Kristen Ashley for writing this beautiful book about soulmates who needed to wait for their time. In the end, they find it and a wealth of happiness that will absolutely warm your soul.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Pippa Grant’s The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire, a Three BFFs and A Wedding Romance ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: A

Tropes/Characteristics: runaway bride FMC; movie star MMC; close proximity; surprise baby; second chance; small town; found family; opposites attract

Throughout reading Pippa Grant’s The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire, I kept asking myself what is it about her romances that tug at me. At face value, Pippa Grant writes quirky rom-coms. The group of writers I put her in is Penny Reid and Lucy Score. They have a distinct writing voice and presence in their stories. Oftentimes, the face of the story is laden with quirky characters and inconceivable plot points. However, by the end of the romance, it’s clear this is a facade. Beneath cute animals such Yolko Ohno, the one-legged chicken, in Grant’s newest offering and the over-the-top antics of the supporting cast of characters abides a deep, loving relationship between her MMC and FMC. There is always something deep below the surface of Pippa Grant’s romances, and the marriage of the light facade with the depth of character rendering is why I always come back for more. 

Throughout Grant’s most recent series, Three BFFs and a Wedding, she’s crafted a small-town world where everyone knows everything and everyone else, and it feels tempestuous at times. In the first two books of the series, she has a big problem: how to handle the upended wedding between Emma and Chandler. Book 2, The Gossip and the Grump, is where she holds us in suspense about Emma’s situation, and she wallops us at the end of that book with a surprise. Crafting this series in this way sets up The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire to be the most anticipated story of the series, which has the potential to cause a problem: what happens if Book 3 doesn’t live up to the hype? Well, you need not fear because, for this reader, The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire is my favorite of the three. Grant definitely saved the best for last, and she fulfilled the promise of creating a series that ends with the cherry on top of the sundae. Why did I love it so much?

  1. Emma makes her MMC work for it. I love that. I’m not a fan of second-chance romances where the hurt FMC lets go of her pain too easily. It undermines the tension of the reconciliation, and Grant superbly takes her reader through the paces of the MMC’s groveling.
  2. What this does is make us fall deeply in love with her MMC. Here’s the thing: I am attempting to write this review without naming him. I know others will do it in their reviews; however, I won’t. Grab the book and find out for yourself. Just know that the inclusion of this MMC into this book is pure genius. It connects the Pippa Grant universe (which I’m a particular fan of doing – it shows me that an author has a distinct and intelligent plan for her stories, even if she figured it out at the last minute. Plus it allows us re-entry into a book world that we previously loved). Secondly, Grant has written this MMC to be everything we need him to be for Emma’s journey. He takes responsibility, he recognizes his shortcomings, there is no gas-lighting, and he accepts his reckoning, all while falling deeply, madly in love with a character who has suffered previously. This is the type of heroic characterization that makes a reader swoon. 
  3. The family of friends in this series is pure joy. The needling, the love, the respect – everything with this cast of friends adds another layer to The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire. The reflections and the reconciliations make for a feel-good read.

Almost a week out from reading Pippa Grant’s newest book, and it still swims in my mind. Emma and her MMC were a delight to read, and I’m so thankful that Pippa Grant knows who she is as a writer because her books bring so much light into a world that oftentimes feels dark. The Bride’s Runaway Billionaire is simply a must-read.

In love and romance,

Professor A