Tag: next door neighbor

Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: L.B. Dunbar’s Naughty-ish ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B

Tropes: next door neighbor; single mom; divorcee; small-town romance; Christmas romance

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of Christmas romances. I will only read the Christmas romances of my favorite authors, L.B. Dunbar being one of them. And her Naughty-ish did not disappoint. Given her background as an English teacher, Dunbar’s intentionality in providing a meaningful structure to her stories impresses me. For this story, she organizes her FMC’s story around statements: “be youthful,” “be present,” and “be the future you want,” all admonishments illustrated through the growth of Holliday, the FMC. As she takes steps to live that out in her life, we, the reader, can ponder how we can do the same in our own. While it might feel prescriptive, I think we could consider it inspiring.

As she usually does, Dunbar gifts us with an older FMC and MMC (Holliday and Nick). Next door neighbors, these two fall fast and hard for each other, even though it takes each of them a bit to accept it. There is a nice blend of spicy romance with the sweetness of a holiday one, and Dunbar’s finished product is one that will put a smile on your face. L.B. Dunbar’s Naughy-ish is a romance meant not only to entertain but to also encourage. At this time of year, it’s everything you need in a Christmas romance.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Cover Reveal

✍🏻 Who’s ready for some Christmas-inspired romance? Check out the cover for L.B. Dunbar’s Naughty-ish, coming November 21st! ✍🏻

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🎄 COVER REVEAL 🎄
NAUGHTY-ISH by  L.B. Dunbar is releasing on November 21st. This is a naughty next-door neighbor holiday romance. We are thrilled to share the cover with you! 

PREORDER TODAY!

https://mybook.to/naughtyish

BLURB: 

With the name Holliday, you’d think I’d be all about the Christmas season. Most years, I am, but this one not so much. Between my ex being a real Scrooge-in-the-backside, re-entering the workforce, wrangling my two children, and evading my eight-year-old’s questions about Santa’s existence, I’m struggling to believe in the magic myself.

Enter Nick, my next-door neighbor. My very hot, single, fireman neighbor. He’s full of the seasonal spirit from hanging my outdoor Christmas lights to playing Santa for the local church breakfast.

Funny thing about Nick, he kind of resembles the man in red, in a younger, sexier, silver fox way, complete with snow in his beard but rather tight abs suggesting cookies are not part of his diet when they are a staple of mine.

Anywho, he’s sweet in a rugged sense, and if he were the man making a list and checking it twice, I’d like to be in his naughty column. Because something tells me being a little naughty-ish with Nick from next door might bring me tidings of comfort and restore my joy in this season.

When he discovers I have a seasonal list myself, he’s determined to help me accomplish all the to-dos, only falling in love with my next-door neighbor wasn’t one of them.

+ + +

From L.B. Dunbar comes another SHE-grump Christmas tale of holiday shenanigans and jingling bells with a sunshine silver fox fireman.

Find more books by LB Dunbar here: https://www.lbdunbar.com

Blogger Sign Up: https://forms.gle/Q8sHGGDw6FaoaELs5

ABOUT L.B. DUNBAR:

L.B. Dunbar loves sexy silver foxes, second chances, and small towns. If you enjoy older characters in your romance reads, including a hero with a little silver in his scruff and a heroine rediscovering her worth, then welcome to romance for those over 40. L.B. Dunbar’s signature works include women and men in their prime taking another turn at love and happily ever. She’s a USA TODAY Bestselling Author, as well as an Amazon Top 10 Later in Life Romance with her Lakeside Cottage and Road Trips & Romance series. L.B. lives in Chicago with her own sexy silver fox.

To get all the scoop about the self-proclaimed queen of silver fox romance, join her on Facebook at Loving L.B. or receive her monthly newsletter, Love Notes.

 AUTHOR LINKS

Facebook Page | Instagram | Amazon | Bookbub | Goodreads | Website | Tik Tok

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✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Elle Kennedy’s The Summer Girl ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: virgin heroine; player hero; good girl/bad boy; summer fling; new adult; band of brothers/found family; small-town; insta-attraction; standalone in an interconnected series

Elle Kennedy’s The Summer Girl, book 3 of her Avalon Bay series, is the perfect summer read. Set in Avalon Bay, a small town with a townies/tourist vibe, it’s the type of book you find yourself reading on the beach. I haven’t read the first two books of this series, but this is Elle Kennedy, and I dived into this book without a look back. Thankfully, Kennedy makes it easy on her first-time reader to this series, introducing us to the broader group of characters and offering nods to the storylines of the first two books. In fact, The Summer Girl has prompted me to read those first two books because the story between Cassie and Tate is just too good. 

The chemistry between these next-door neighbors is a four-alarm fire. Kennedy deftly takes her virgin heroine, Cassie, and pairs her with Tate, despite all of their attempts to keep their friendship platonic. However, any reader can see and feel their attraction. Kennedy carefully draws out their inclination for each other until just the right point. Then, she crafts a complication that comes from right field which makes your head spin. The entire time, she has you rooting for Tate and Cassie, but an Elle Kennedy coupling is never easy. She draws you in so deeply, and she forces you to wait until the very end for their happily ever after. 

Add to this the reality of families. Tate’s character represents a loving family. In contrast, Cassie’s family dynamic has created a skewed sense of self and family history. Tate helps Cassie find her voice and draw appropriate boundaries, allowing Kennedy to underscore the psychology of families and their impact on our construction of self. One minute, she has you swooning for her characters’ romantic journey; the next, she’s emphasizing the power of forgiveness and letting go of people who bring us harm. Kennedy has curated a balance of fun and thoughtfulness through her story.

If The Summer Girl is any indication of the texture of the Avalon Bay series, I’m excited to read more of the stories in this steamy enclave.

In love and romance,


Professor A