Tag: romance

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Cover Reveal

✍🏻 Check out the gorgeous cover for Shattered Truths by Helena Hunting writing as H. Hunting. ✍🏻

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Shattered Truths

by Helena Hunting writing as H. Hunting

Release date: August 28th


Cover Designer: Hang Le

https://www.instagram.com/byhangle/

Photographer: Michelle Lancaster

https://www.instagram.com/lanefotograf/


Model: Lawrence Templar

The first time I met Winter Marks, I almost took her out with my Jeep.

To be fair, she came out of nowhere.

I flirted with her, and she flipped me off and disappeared into the woods on her bike.

But she left me a souvenir: a single hockey skate.

Seemed to me that divine intervention shouldn’t be ignored.

She was my icy Cinderella and I would be her Prince Not-So-Charming.

Winter was more than just a sassy, badass hockey-playing hottie.

She’s stuck in a prison of a life. And I’m the perfect escape.

Neither of us expected to fall.

Or for the truth to shatter us.

Amazon US → https://amzn.to/3ReSQX3

Amazon CA → https://amzn.to/3CUfDDh

Amazon UK → https://amzn.to/3ALpQz4

Amazon AU → https://amzn.to/3AGc8NQ

Amazon Universal →  https://geni.us/ShatteredTruths

Goodreads → https://geni.us/ShatteredTruthsGR

Goodreads Most Anticipated →  https://geni.us/MostAnticipatedAug23

Website → https://helenahunting.com/books/shattered-truths/

About Helena Hunting:

NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her adorable, emotional cat, who thinks the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from emotional contemporary romance to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.

Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1y6OBB7

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/helena-hunting

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helena.hunting69/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/helenahunting

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helenahunting

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/helenahunting

NEWSLETTER:  https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/f4p1t7

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new release, Review

✍🏻 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

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 ⭐️ Review: Jolie Vines’s Touch Her and Die, book 1 of her new McRae Bodyguards series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Tropes: bodyguard romance; grump/sunshine; forced proximity; forbidden-esque; found family; band of brothers; romantic suspense

Jolie Vines’s newest story, Touch Her and Die, harkens back to her earlier Wild Scots and Wild Mountain Scots series. Having spent the last year gobbling her darker romance series, Dark Island Scots, it was refreshing to jump into Touch Her and Die, the first book of her newest series, McRae Bodyguards, because it reminds us what Vines does well: craft heroes who fall hard and deep for their heroines and heroines whose emotional intelligence brings out the best in their heroes. This story takes us into the world crafted by Gourdain, the second eldest brother of Vines’s popular Marry the Scots series (see Hero – one of my favorite of her stories in that series). Vines’s hero is Ben, a character who has shown up in prior stories as a background character, and she makes him shine in this one. Throughout Touch Her and Die, Ben must work through the trauma of his past and the unresolved feelings he has for his birth mom. These issues hinder his ability to have a meaningful relationship with the story’s heroine, Daisy.  Vines deftly creates grump/sunshine personas for her main characters which allow for a balanced story.

While Ben works to avoid his attraction and instant chemistry with Daisy, Daisy’s journey involves finding her own space in the world. Escaping a mafia-esque family to pursue cleaning houses, Daisy must continue to make choices that are best for her. Even more, Vines’s adding in her love for helping people clean their homes to create order ingratiates her to readers. Daisy reminded me of the character in the movie, Maid, in that she recognized the power of bringing order into people’s lives that felt disordered. It’s impossible not to love Daisy’s character in this story. 

Another broader stroke I enjoyed in Touch Her and Die is the inclusion of the McRaes into this series. While they played small parts in the Dark Island Scots series, it was tertiary at best. In this book, we are reminded of how much we love Gourdain McRae and the greater McRae family. Connecting us back to the original characters whom Vines made us love breathes a touch of nostalgia into her story.

As a total addendum, I loved the small graphics at the start of each chapter. I know it’s a minor detail, but it shows the care that Vines takes with all aspects of her story.

If I had ONE criticism, it would be the inclusion of Ariel’s point of view in this book. It detracts from Ben and Daisy’s journey, especially at its beginning. I understand it to be set up for Ariel’s story, but it does nothing more than distract the reader.

I’m excited about the future McRae Bodyguard romances. If Touch Her and Die is any indication, I predict another successful series.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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Cover Reveal

✍🏻 The Next Generation is coming! Lexi Blake’s Love The Way You Spy, the first book of her Masters & Mercenaries: New Recruits series, is coming September 19th! I’m so ready for the antics of this next generation with Papa Tag at the helm. ✍🏻

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Lexi Blake has revealed the gorgeous cover for Love the Way You Spy!

Releasing: September 19, 2023

Cover Designer: Frauke Spanuth

Tasha Taggart isn’t a spy. That’s her sisters’ job. Tasha’s support role is all about keeping them alive, playing referee when they fight amongst themselves, and soothing the toughest boss in the world. Working for the CIA isn’t as glamorous as she imagined, and she’s more than a little lonely. So when she meets a charming man in a bar the night before they start their latest op, she decides to give in to temptation. The night was perfect until she discovers she’s just slept with the target of their new investigation. Her sisters will never let her hear the end of this. Even worse, she has to explain the situation to her overprotective father, who also happens to be their boss.

Dare Nash knew exactly how his week in Sydney was going to go—attending boring conferences to represent his family’s business interests and eating hotel food alone. Until he falls under the spell of a stunning and mysterious American woman. Something in Tasha’s eyes raises his body temperature every time she looks at him. She’s captivating, and he’s committed to spending every minute he can with her on this trip, even if her two friends seem awfully intense. His father will be arriving in town soon, and he’s excited to introduce him to a woman he could imagine spending the rest of his life with.

When Dare discovers Tash isn’t who she seems, the dream turns into a nightmare. She isn’t the only one who deceived him, and now he’s in the crosshairs of adversaries way out of his league. He can’t trust her, but it might take Tasha and her family to save his life and uncover the truth.

Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ORIEFB

Apple Books: https://bit.ly/3qorG7O

Nook: https://bit.ly/3MIJCl0

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3qorWDO

Google Play: https://bit.ly/3WK7ZmT

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3OP1zkC

Meet Lexi


New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.

Connect with Lexi

Website: www.lexiblake.net

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5124235.Lexi_Blake

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lexi-Blake/author/B005JVSDJ0

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/526080691345626

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlexiblake

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lexiblakeauthor

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lexi-blake

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lexiblakeauthor/

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Cover Reveal, Uncategorized

✍🏻 I’m obsessed with this cover for Penelope Ward’s next book, I Could Never. I can’t wait to read this one! ✍🏻

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Title: I Could Never
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Forbidden Romance/Enemies to Lovers
Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs
Photographer: Anders Kavin
Release Date: August 21, 2023
BLURB
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new forbidden, enemies-to-lovers story…
It all started with an unexpected phone call.
Two years after my fiancé passed away in an accident, his father died suddenly, leaving Brad’s adult, special-needs brother with no one to care for him.
The next thing I knew, I was on a cross-country drive to New Hampshire where I’d be moving in to look after Scottie until I could get him into a group home.
The last thing I ever expected?
I wouldn’t be taking care of him alone.
Josh Mathers, my fiance’s best friend—who also happened to be my sworn enemy—insisted he was the better person for the job. He told me to go back to California, and I told him where he could stick that demand.
Our disdain for each other wasn’t anything new. It dated back to a text I’d accidentally read years ago.
We hated each other. But we both loved Scottie, so neither of us budged.
Now we were living together in a tiny house—with one available bedroom. Thank goodness it was only temporary.
Over time, I realized the broody jerk I thought I knew was different than I’d imagined.
I found myself slowly growing attached to someone I once considered the enemy…and growing attracted to him.
Sure, both of us were guilt-ridden over Brad. We were also two grown people with pent-up frustration toward one another—stuck in a cabin in the woods.
But this was Josh.

I could never.
PRE-ORDER LINKS
**No Amazon e-book preorder. 
Will go live on/around release day
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 twenty novels. Her books 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
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Cover Reveal

✍🏻 Hell-ooo! Check out this yummy cover from Adriana Locke for her next story, The Proposal. ✍🏻

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Adriana Locke has revealed the gorgeous cover for The Proposal!

Releasing: July 27, 2023

Model Cover Design: Kari March Designs

Photographer: ©Regina Wamba

Special Edition Cover Design: Staci Hart

Breaking News: Rugby’s bad boy marries his best friend’s little sister

If Renn Brewer would’ve asked me to marry him, I would’ve said no.

Why?

One, his reputation precedes him. His name is in the headlines at least once a month. Two, he’s not just my brother’s best friend. They’re teammates. And three, I’m in my self-care era. 

Unfortunately, a version of me equates self-care with bad choices.

The cocktail in my hand—similar to the one that got me into this situation—is the prettiest shade of pink. It’s almost the same color as the giant rock on my left hand. And instead of discussing an annulment, I’m considering a 90-day marriage of convenience to the man I accidentally married in Las Vegas.

Renn didn’t propose marriage. But he does deliver a proposal I might be unable to turn down.

Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://bit.ly/43D5Snn

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/TheProposalAL

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3J9vq3t

Meet Adriana


USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best—big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.

She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.

Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.

Connect with Adriana 

Website: www.adrianalocke.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Adriana-Locke/author/B00NPBY8FE/

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksbyadrianalocke

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

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/authoralocke

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrianalockewrites 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoradrianalo

Other: https://www.youtube.com/adrianalocke

Verve: https://ververomance.com/app/adrianalocke

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Cover Reveal

✍🏻 Another story is coming to Sarina Bowen’s Hockey Guys series. Check out the cover for I’m Your Guy, coming November 2nd. You can preorder it NOW! ✍🏻

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Sarina Bowen has another story coming to her Hockey Guys series, November 2nd. Check out the cover for I’m Your Guy!

TOMMASO

The furniture district is my personal hell. I don’t know my ass from an ottoman. But when a hot designer comes to my rescue, I realize my problems are bigger than the house I’m trying to furnish.

A scorching kiss over fabric samples makes me question all my choices. But is it too late to change my entire life to get more of them?


CARTER

I need this gig, but my cocky new client leaves out a couple crucial details:
He doesn’t mention that he’s a famous hockey player. And he doesn’t own up to the way he’s always trying to undress me with his dark, broody eyes.

The man throws out more mixed signals than a broken traffic light. I’ve never been more sexually frustrated in my entire life. I need to back away before I do something stupid, like lose my heart.

Oops. Too late.

Cover Design: Elle Maxwell

Preorder your copy today!

Amazon: https://geni.us/Im-Your-Guy-Amazon
Apple Books: https://geni.us/Im-Your-Guy-Apple
Kobo: https://geni.us/Im-Your-Guy-Kobo
Nook: https://geni.us/Im-Your-Guy-Nook
Audio: Coming soon!

All links in one place: https://shor.by/HockeyGuys
ADD TO GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122753552-i-m-your-guy

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4 ⭐️ Review: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s Snow Place Like LA, a Christmas Notch in July novella ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Tropes: second chance romance; forced proximity; working with an ex; Christmas in July feels; mm romance; miscommunication and misunderstandings

Snow Place Like LA begins where Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s A Merry Little Meet Cute leaves us. Angel and Luca have enjoyed themselves thoroughly in Christmas Notch, but it’s time to return to the “real world,” and Luca is curious and anticipatory about his future with Angel. However, at the airport, at the last minute, Angel seems vague. The two separate with Angel going to Paris and Luca returning to Los Angeles. When Luca tries to connect with Angel via messaging and hears nothing, he doubts their connection. When he finds an incriminating photo on social media, he makes the heavy decision to block Angel, and he feels heartbroken.

Snow Place Like LA is a deliciously dirty rom-com highlighting the disastrous effects of misunderstandings and spur-of-the-moment actions. Set in the backdrop of Teddy Ray Flectcher’s “corn” business, Murphy and Simone use the epic Pretty Woman to craft moments of hilarity for their story. They incorporate many of the characters from the first book of the Christmas Notch series as a way to connect readers who loved that book to this expanding world. When Angel and Luca are forced to work on the “corn” version of Pretty Woman, Luca’s anger and heartbreak create tension in the story, but it never overwhelms its rom-com designation. Unfortunately, Angel and Luca cannot keep their hands off each other.

When Angel and Luca finally talk about their falling out, it becomes clear that there were misunderstandings. As these two reconcile, Murphy and Simone use Luca’s emotional journey to highlight the impact of past traumas on present-day choices. Luca shows us that feeling misunderstood and not being accepted by his family has left him to create walls with the people around him. He uses humor to mask his feelings. When he doesn’t feel “seen” by Angel as they leave Vermont, he recognizes it replicates his feelings to his family’s disinterest in him. Just when it feels as though they will find their happy ending, Angel has more news, and he invites Luca into a future with him. However, Luca’s love for the people who have loved and accepted him makes it difficult to choose Angel’s proposition. Murphy and Simone deftly walk us through Luca’s journey of self-awareness, and Angel and Luca find their happy ending.

Snow Place Like LA is irreverently funny. It’s impossible not to love Luca and Angel, and there are truths in this book that feel necessary for us to read and apply to our own lives. I cannot wait for more stories from Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s Christmas Notch series.

In love and romance,

Professor A

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new release

✍🏻 Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone’s Snow Place like LA returns to Christmas Notch. Angel and Luca’s story is a dirty, delectable novella, perfect reading for a week in July! ✍🏻

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SNOW PLACE LIKE LA BY SIERRA SIMONE & JULIE MURPHY

Release date: July 11th

Genre / Tropes: MM Romance / Christmas in July / Second Chance / Romantic Comedy

🎄 Get ready for a steamy second chance with Snow Place Like LA by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy!

This Christmas in July rom-com takes you on a whirlwind journey of love, fate, and unexpected reunions. Join Angel and Luca as they navigate the twists and turns of a small town that suddenly feels too small.

Don’t miss out on this heartwarming and steamy read!

Get your copy now and experience the magic of love.

Amazon: sierrasim.one/KindleSnowPlace

Apple Books: sierrasim.one/AppleSnowPlace

Kobo: sierrasim.one/KoboSnowPlace

Nook: sierrasim.one/NookSnowPlace

Google: sierrasim.one/PlaySnowPlace

Add to your TBR

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/44hnGF4

Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3O7HPb8

Blurb

Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—a steamy second chance Christmas in July rom-com.

After Angel and Luca connected on the set of Duke the Halls and had a whirlwind romance in the literal snow globe of Christmas Notch, Vermont, Luca found himself falling in love. Hard. He’d never been one to believe in fate or true love, but one thing was certain: Angel was his person. He knew it as well as he knew the history of American figure skating. But when Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word, Luca’s already brittle heart was broken. No one ghosted Luca. Unless he was in a haunted house.

But with the spring semester long over, Angel is back home in Los Angeles for the summer, and unfortunately for Luca, this big town is turning out to be smaller than either of them ever expected.

About Sierra Simone:

Sierra Simone is a USA Today Bestselling former librarian (who spent too much time reading romance novels at the information desk.) She lives with her husband and family in Kansas City.

Connect w/Sierra Simone:

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SierraSimonesLambs

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSierraSimone

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PDR4K4

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1oo9WEh

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

Website: http://authorsierrasimone.com/

Subscribe to Sierra’s newsletter:

https://www.subscribepage.com/sierrasimone

About Julie Murphy:

JULIE MURPHY lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time. When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure. She is also the author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. You can visit Julie at www.juliemurphywrites.com.

Connect w/Julie:

Website www.juliemurphywrites.com

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/andimJULIE

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/andimjulie

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

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 4.5 ⭐️ Review: Devney Perry’s The Dandelion Diary, a 1001 Dark Nights romance ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

Tropes: single dad; insta-attraction; teacher/parent; interconnected story

I am certain that Devney Perry’s Maysen Jar series is my sentimental favorite of her book list. The delicate gravity of her stories in The Birthday List and Letters to Molly socks you solidly in the stomach, and you can’t help but fall in love with her characters and their stories. That she, a couple of years later, gifts us with the delicious nibble of The Dandelion Diary, a 1001 Dark Nights novella, is a treasure to behold. Its perfection lies in its simplicity and its poignancy. The Dandelion Diary is an apt reminder of why I love this series so much. 

What is there to love about this nugget of a romance?

  • A protective single dad who adores his daughter. Perry hasn’t drawn her hero, Jeff, with too much complexity. He is a simple man living his life to love and care for his daughter. As you read, you can’t help but fall in love with him as he calls her “dandelion” and he treats her respectfully and fairly in all things. In the shadow of his complicated and tumultuous relationship with his ex-wife, he ensures his daughter is able to love her mother while being a respectful co-parent. Quite frankly, Jeff is a dream hero in all his rugged handsomeness.
  • Like Jeff’s characterization, Perry doesn’t craft Della to be anything more than Jeff’s soulmate. Through her journey, Perry wants her readers to think about the idea of being loved and treasured. Those truths have been missing in her life, at least until she meets Jeff. When she meets him, they complete each other, filling Della’s need to be adored and adding layers to Jeff’s complicated life. 
  • I love the easiness of Jeff and Della’s relationship in the shadow of its forbidden element. Perry creates the perfect tension between its forbidden nature and their responsibility to “do the right thing.” Perry doesn’t overwhelm her readers with the angst of this balance, rather she moves the story along by having her characters take responsibility for their actions.
  • As she does so well in all of her stories, Devney Perry ends The Dandelion Diary with a future brighter than first believed possible. There is beauty in the future lives of her characters, and she adds a touch of surprise as the finality to her romance.

The Dandelion Diary is quintessential Devney Perry. It’s a perfect addendum to her beautiful Maysen Jar series, gifting a little peek back into this world that we adore.

In love and romance,

Professor A