Audiobook Sunday: YOU MAY KISS THE GROOMSMAN by Samantha Chase

April 6, 2025

Read by Avery Reid

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Meet Me at the Altar, Book 3

From the publisher:

It seemed like a good idea at the time….

When Josie Sullivan agrees to marry her friend Tyler, it’s just so he’ll get a promotion at work. That’s what friends do, right? But what should have been a quick, quiet affair starts to look like the real thing when his family shows up in the middle of the “proposal”. Now, it’s no longer a quick stop at the courthouse during a lunch break but a full-blown wedding, and there’s nothing Josie can do to stop it.

There was no way he could hold his peace….

Daniel Alexander hasn’t been home in years. After 15 years as a Navy SEAL, he’s more than ready to return to civilian life. Being away for so long, he’s missed a lot of his younger brother’s life, and it seems like he’s back just in time to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. No matter how he breaks it down, something’s just not adding up about this wedding, and he’s determined to figure out why. And he’s not just trying to stop it from happening because he’s finding himself wildly attracted to the bride-to-be…or because they can’t stop kissing each other.

Josie had given up on finding her own happily ever after, and as her attraction to Daniel keeps growing, she’s suddenly regretting her decision to help out a friend. Now she just needs to decide if she wants to kiss the groom…or the groomsman.

https://amzn.to/4imfKcz

I have not read any of the books in this series, and it never felt like I was missing something, so kudos to Chase. This was a fun read, and I enjoyed listening to it. It usually takes me a few weeks to finish an audiobook; my commute to work is only 20 minutes, and I don’t always remember to put in my AirPods while I’m doing laundry or cooking, but when I do, I get through books a lot quicker. If it’s really good, then I find myself listening all the time. Not too many books like that, though.

The premise of this book was a bit farfetched. Josie is a people pleaser, so when Tyler tells her he can get promoted to partner at his law firm if he’s married, and floats the idea of Josie doing him “a favor” and marrying him, she agrees. She’s not in a relationship, and Tyler is a friend. She has a hard time saying no to friends. Then he throws in a sweetener. Josie has a wedding planning business but wants to expand to other types of events, and Tyler tells her as his wife, she will get all the law firm’s business. It’s a done deal.

They meet for dinner to iron out the details but his parents show up and immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. Tyler doesn’t want to disappoint them and decides to go along with his family’s wishes about the wedding without consulting Josie. This makes her very uncomfortable, but every time she tries to talk to him about it, he manipulates her into doing what he wants.

Meanwhile, Josie meets a really great guy, Daniel, who has just retired from the Navy SEALs. They have a strong attraction, and go out for dinner. The shocker is that Daniel is Tyler’s brother. Daniel can’t understand how this woman he had dinner with and made out with is supposed to marry his brother. And Tyler is just avoiding both of them.

Things get complicated, but no worries, there is a happy ending! If Josie had a spine, there would have been no plot so that worked in this sweet romance. This was a fun listen and a nice escape. I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but the narrator was new to me, and she did a great job.

4/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

YOU MAY KISS THE GROOMSMAN by Samantha Chase. Narrator: Avery Reid. Dreamscape Media, LLC; September 09, 2021. Listening Length: 7 hours and 22 minutes

Kindle

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SWEPT AWAY by Beth O’Leary

April 4, 2025

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From the publisher:

Two strangers find themselves stranded at sea together in this epic new love story by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

What if you were lost at sea…with your one-night stand?

Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend’s daughter.

Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.

With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.

“Romance readers looking for deep emotions and relationship fiction aficionados who want a little heat with their stories will enjoy this unique tale.”—Library Journal

https://amzn.to/43ZKLi6

I had been listening to an audiobook, Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid, which was about a couple whose plane crashes but leaves them safe and sound on a remote island in the Caribbean. Then I started reading this book, Swept Away, about a houseboat that becomes unmoored during the night, stranding a couple at sea. The similarities are obvious, but the differences were just as stark. I stopped listening to the audiobook at about the halfway point; it had devolved into silliness, and I hated the whiny characters. I settled in with this unputdownable read instead and started a new audiobook. And here we are.

Zeke’s father owned a houseboat for many years, but Zeke had a difficult relationship with him. After his father passes away, he leaves Zeke the boat, which he promptly sells. Five years later he has seller’s remorse, and buys the boat back from the new owner. She is a single mom who lives with her best friend, Lexi, who is helping to raise her daughter.

Lexi meets Zeke in the bar where she works, and decides it is time for a one night stand. She is open about what she wants, just a night of fun, and Zeke surprises himself by agreeing. Zeke has spent years on one night stands, and several months earlier finally realized it wasn’t working for him anymore. He started therapy and hadn’t been with a woman in months. Why he decided to sleep with Lexi surprises even himself.

Lexi’s roommate owns the houseboat, but Lexi is unaware that she has just sold it. There is some confusion between Lexi and Zeke the next morning over who owns the boat and who needs to get off of it immediately. But when they go above board, they are at sea in a houseboat that may or may not be seaworthy. They are in the North Sea, which is one of the roughest oceans in the world, but luckily, for most of the time, the waters are calm. But they don’t see another boat for days.

As Lexi and Zeke rally together to try and live through this horrific experience, one thing leads to another, and they fall in love. They also adopt an injured seagull, Lexi accidentally knives Zeke, and they have all manner of trouble with the boat. All of these disasters tend to bring them closer together, and when eventually they are saved (no spoilers here, this is a romance, after all, so the happy ending is guaranteed), they run into a whole set of different problems, one of which seems insurmountable.

I loved this book, which is no surprise – I think I’ve loved all of Beth O’Leary’s books. They usually have a slow start, but not here – this book is completely engaging from the get-go. This is a very different take on the forced proximity romance, and it really worked here. I loved the unusual plot line, the characters, and their happy ever after. Don’t miss it!

4/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SWEPT AWAY by Beth O’Leary. Berkley (April 1, 2025). ISBN: 978-0593640142. 384p.

Kindle

Audible

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BookBitch Diary: April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025
Loki sorting socks

I’m still in mourning for my kitty, Loki. I miss him terribly and think about him all the time. So many things trigger memories for me. Bringing home a rotisserie chicken would have him underfoot until I shared some. I don’t think I’ll ever bake a sponge cake again – for some reason, he would go crazy when I made one. As it cooled on the counter in the pan, he would stand up next to it, paws reaching, nose quivering. There was something about the scent that really appealed to him. He never jumped on the counter, though; he was such a good boy. I was folding laundry and got hit with such a wave of sadness that he wasn’t there to jump into the laundry basket or plant himself in the middle of all the clean laundry.

It’s still weird going to bed, and he’s not there. He’s not in any of his favorite spaces, and I can’t help but look all the time. I get up in the morning and go into the kitchen, and his bowls aren’t there. He was a part of my routine for sixteen years, and it feels like so many of my routines have changed now. I stopped watching cat videos; they make me cry instead of laugh now. Yes, I’m still crying but not as much and not as often. Sometimes, I just scroll through pictures, I have so many. My daughter has over 1600 pictures of Loki on her phone. She was home a lot with him, and she’s a photographer, so it makes sense.

I am so grateful that I can talk to my husband about him, and he understands – he misses him, too. My daughter, too. A shared burden lightens the load somewhat. I know, logically, that it is just going to take time, but that doesn’t really help how I feel now. Having this space helps, too.

Book News

So much book news this month!

Is listening to a book cheating?

No, audiobooks are not a lesser art form than printed books.

Can books beat Trump?

Indie publisher Melville House is racing to preserve history, before the US government buries the evidence . . . they’ve just released two new reports in the US, with both following in the UK in the next few weeks: a print and eBook edition of the Jack Smith report—the summation of an investigation of Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election—and the Tulsa report, concerning the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

Trump’s attack on libraries was predictable. Its consequences could be devastating

The president wants to eliminate the agency backing libraries and museums. But the institutions do far more than lend books

‘In Dallas, Texas, for instance, nearly 3.9m digital resources were checked out from the public library last year alone.’ Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

We Need Diverse Books is launching the inaugural We Need Diverse Books Day on Thursday, April 3, “to highlight the importance of reading books that reflect the beautifully diverse world.” 

WNDB will be recommending titles for all ages, sharing resources on where to find them, and encouraging everyone to read a diverse book. To celebrate We Need Diverse Books Day and 10 years of the nonprofit, WNDB said it is donating 10,000 titles in 2025 to schools and libraries across the country. 

“We invite you to pick out and read a diverse book today–because diverse books are for everyone and these stories ought to be shared and celebrated,” said WNDB board chair and author Dhonielle Clayton.

Can Bibliotherapy Drive Book Sales?

“After two years of declines, BookScan reported that unit sales in 2024 rose by 1% . . . BookTok sales driven by the social media platform jumped 20% last year over 2023 . . . As fears about the economy grow, consumers will likely cut back on buying big-ticket items and focus more on categories that have a high perceived value at a lower price, such as books.”

Food News

A Dream of Gold and Green

How Irish butter took over the world.

The Surprising Trick for Cooking Rice That Works for Any Grain
A simple boiling method doesn’t require measuring or memorization — and you probably already know how to do it.

A wide variety of grains comes out tender and fluffy when prepared with the boiling method. David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews

Good News

Teacher gives $20 to her students with one rule: Use it for kindness

Kristina Ulmer, at Hatboro-Horsham High School in Horsham, Pennsylvania, started her $20 Kindness Challenge in 2018 in memory of her sister, Katie Amodei. (Kristina Ulmer)

Kristina Ulmer does the kindness challenge each year . . . She said students run with it.
“The first time I participated in the challenge, I didn’t think it would be possible to make a difference with $20, but I learned that’s really not true,” Sydney said. “You don’t have to have millions — anyone can make a difference.”

Other News

As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.

Thanks to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.

Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: April 1, 2025 | Ramblings | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

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