Romance | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

Audiobook Sunday: THE ONE I DIDN’T SEE COMING by Piper Rayne

January 19, 2025

Read by Jason Clarke & Ava Erickson

Plain Daisy Ranch, Book 3

From the publisher:

It’s the classic story—girl returns to her hometown only to end up moving in with her high school crush, who she hates.

Returning to Willowbrook was my only option after Chicago chewed me up and spit me out. Technically, it wasn’t Chicago’s fault. It was his fault—the man I thought I knew who turned out to be a liar.

My older sister, always the one to swoop in and fix things, secured me a job as a yoga instructor on her fiancé’s family ranch. As my self-assigned protector, she’s keeping one eye on me and one eye on Emmett Noughton, her fiancé’s brother.

He’s the charming, fun-loving, take-life-as-it-comes kind of guy, and once upon a time, his name was scribbled in my notebooks. Back then, I was invisible to him. Now, he’s looking at me like I’m the only thing in the room. But he lost his chance with me a long time ago.

It’s easy to keep him at arm’s length and nurse the grudge I’ve held onto for years. Until the house I’m staying in sells, and I have nowhere to go except his house. Now, resisting him isn’t just difficult—it’s impossible.

https://amzn.to/420T1h4

Briar has moved back home, but her house sells almost immediately, leaving her temporarily homeless. Her sister’s father-in-law insists that she move in with Emmett, the youngest son, as he has tons of extra space. Unfortunately, Briar had a huge crush on him when she was young, but overheard him say something about her that she didn’t like, and now she hates him. But a roof over her head is a necessity so she moves in.

Emmett is trying to find his place in the family business, but his siblings all pretty much ignore the baby of the family. But Emmett is no baby, and it takes some moxie to make his family realize that. He also has a strong protective streak that works out well for Briar. Unfortunately, the eldest brother pretty much threatens Emmett with bodily harm if he goes near Briar, but the more the family tries to keep them apart, the closer they get, especially when living together.

Like all of Piper Rayne’s books, this is a spicy romance with a lot of humor. The story is compelling, and I really enjoyed listening to these narrators; they were both really good and brought the story to life. I’ll read anything by the writing duo known as Piper Rayne, and lucky for me, they are prolific!

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE ONE I DIDN’T SEE COMING by Piper Rayne. Narrators: Jason Clarke, Ava Erickson. Piper Rayne Inc.; September 06, 2024. ASIN: B0DG9D8YY6. Listening Length: 6 hours and 46 minutes

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FORGET ME NOT by Julie Soto

January 17, 2025

From the publisher:

A wedding planner and her grumpy ex must work together to plan a celebrity event in this deliciously spicy and funny novel from Ali Hazelwood’s “favorite writer.”

Ama Torres is an optimistic wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage. But weddings? They’re amazing. Elliot Bloom is a brooding florist who hates owning a flower shop…until a certain bright-eyed, donut-loving workaholic shows up at his door.

Once upon a time, they collaborated on events by day, and by night, Ama traced the intricate flower tattoos etched along his body. Then Ama shattered his heart and never spoke to Elliot again.

Now they’re working on an event that could make or break both of their careers—except neither of them has gotten over what happened two years ago. Things are not helped by the two brides, who see the obvious chemistry between Ama and Elliot and are determined to set them up, not knowing their complicated history. But as the wedding takes on a life of its own, Ama and Elliot are about to discover that some things can survive a complete catastrophe . . .

Smart and hilarious, Forget Me Not is about two people giving themselves—and love!—a second chance.

https://amzn.to/40nELxI

I read this author’s second book, Not Another Love Song, and I liked it so much that I hunted down this one. There are a couple of characters who cross over, but both books stand alone just fine.

This book is about a wedding planner, Ama, who worked for one of the most successful wedding planners in town, but with her boss’s blessing, she’s gone out on her own. Her boss does strictly high end weddings, and Ama wants to work with brides on a budget. Her business is going pretty well, but she’s barely scraping by, using a myriad of relatives to help in lieu of paid full-time staff. But everything changes when a social media influencer wants Ama to plan her & her bride-to-be’s wedding, and money is no object. The brides also insist on using Bloom as the florist.

Little do the brides know, but Ama and Elliot Bloom have a history. The story spends a lot of time in the past, building up to the reason why they no longer work together and are “enemies.” But Ama knows that Elliot is very talented and is happy to swallow her pride and ask him to work on this wedding. The details of the wedding are so original, it added another layer of interest to the story.

Elliott is the strong, silent type – even rude to a point, but Ama understands him perfectly. With every hiccup in the planning, Elliot is there to back her up and help. His caring for Ama overrides any issues I may have had with his grumpiness (and I really didn’t have any,) and the second-chance romance leads to a happy ending.

I enjoyed this read and was so excited to see what Soto would do next that I checked, and boy, am I disappointed. She has two books coming out later this year; one is a Young Adult book, and the other is a romantasy, the latest trend in romance, and a subgenre I don’t particularly care for. I wish her the best with both books, of course, but doubtful I’ll be reading either. Lucky for me, there are still lots of terrific romance writers who haven’t been driven to the dark side, by which I mean romantasy.

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FORGET ME NOT by Julie Soto. Forever (July 11, 2023). ISBN: 978-1538740880. 352p.

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Spotlight Review: ACCIDENTALLY AMY by Lynn Painter

January 14, 2025

From the publisher:

A stolen latte results in a meet-cute for the ages in this brand-new edition, with bonus content, of New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter’s rom-com Accidentally Amy.

Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person. But when she’s running late for her first day at her dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” three times with no answer, she does the unthinkable.

Izzy takes that PSL.

It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only way further ahead in the queue—and she’ll take whatever bad karma is coming for her; she’s desperate and very late. But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his made-for-GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Karma who? Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising, until he says to her: “See you tomorrow, Amy.”

Izzy reasons she can just straighten things out the next day, no biggie. Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips—the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who does not find her explanation funny at all. But day by day, an attraction simmers between them and they’ll have to find a way to work together without ripping each other’s heads—or clothes—off.

“A charming meet-cute . . . there are plenty of funny and heartwarming moments along the way” —Publishers Weekly

https://amzn.to/42aNXGS

This book started off life as a serial distributed via Painter’s newsletter. She took that serial, fleshed it out some more, and expanded it into this very cute romcom.

The meet-cute sets up the whole story. Izzy is starting a new job and stops at Starbucks on her way in for the first day of Pumpkin Spice Lattes. The place is packed, and as she waits for her drink she starts getting panicky that she will be late for her first day of work. The barista keeps calling “Amy,” and no one is picking up that drink, so in a rash decision, Izzy grabs the PSL for Amy, turns around, and spills it all over a very good-looking man. Mortified, Izzy tries cleaning him up, makes some bad jokes, calls him Mr. Chest due to his fantastic build, and completely intrigues the man. They agreed to meet the next morning back at Starbucks.

Izzy starts her new job, on time, as a Human Resources generalist. It’s a great company to work for, and she is really excited about it until she meets her boss’s boss, and it turns out to be, you guessed it, Mr. Chest from Starbucks, AKA Blake. What Izzy doesn’t know is that Blake has had a bad breakup in the not-too-distant past because he found out the woman was lying to him. So Izzy’s stealing Amy’s latte puts her squarely in liars camp, and he wants no part of that. But they do see each other at work and at Starbucks, and before you know it, they have decided to be friends. This fabulous company they work for has a strict no-fraternization rule when there is a power difference, with no way around it. Until the company merges with another company, and the organizational structure changes. Or does it?

Lots of texting and witty banter lead to real feelings, but the inevitable breakup occurs. Can they find their way back to one another? Of course they can, this is a romance! It is also a fun, entertaining read and doesn’t try to be any more than that, and sometimes, that is enough.

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ACCIDENTALLY AMY by Lynn Painter. Berkley (January 14, 2025). ISBN: 978-0593817087. 352p.

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Audiobook Sunday: TWO CAN PLAY by Ali Hazelwood

January 12, 2025

Read by Kelsey Navarro Foster

From the publisher:

An enemies-to-lovers spicy romance set in the world of video gaming from the bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis—available only in audio!

Viola Bowen has the chance of a lifetime: to design a video game based on her all-time favorite book series. The only problem? Her co-lead is Jesse F-ing Andrews, a.k.a. her arch-nemesis. Jesse has made it abundantly clear over the years that he wants nothing to do with her–and Viola has no idea why.

When their bosses insist a wintery retreat is the perfect team-building exercise, Viola can’t think of anything worse. Being freezing cold in a remote mountain lodge knowing Jesse is right next door? No, thank you.

But as the snow piles on, Viola discovers there’s more to Jesse than she knew, and heat builds in more ways than one.

“Foster’s expressive delivery keeps listeners invested in Viola and Jesse’s evolving relationship, audibly illustrating Viola’s change from hating Jesse to realizing the misunderstanding between them and deciding to begin a relationship. Foster’s overall performance of this short romance is entertaining” AudioFile

https://amzn.to/4ggICBG

This is the audio equivalent of a novella and is not available in print or ebook format. I love Ali Hazelwood, so I was happy to listen and this did not disappoint at all. I also am not often a fan of novellas, usually finding them lacking in character development and short on plot. I was delighted that this had neither problem. The plot was good; video game designers who are competitors and forced to work together and the companies involved take their staff on a wintry retreat for bonding fun. This new game is based on Viola’s favorite fantasy book series, so there is no way she’s giving this up, even if she has to work with her design nemesis, Jesse. Turns out it’s not as difficult an assignment as either one of them feared. In fact, the more team building they do, the more Jesse grows on Viola, and before a snowball can melt, they are in bed and developing a good game and a good relationship.

This is a spicy romance with characters I couldn’t help but care about and root for. The storyline was interesting and the secondary characters were really just background noise. The narrator was terrific and I really enjoyed this!

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

TWO CAN PLAY by Ali Hazelwood. Narrator: Kelsey Navarro Foster. Spotify Audiobooks; October 01, 2024. ASIN: B0DGYFBMQC. Listening Length: 4 hours and 24 minutes.

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BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL by Sarah Adams

January 10, 2025

When in Rome, Book 3

From the publisher:

Two feuding second-grade teachers (and neighbors) find themselves teaming up in this new rivals-to-lovers romance set in Rome, Kentucky—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rule Book and Practice Makes Perfect.

Emily Walker hates having her carefully crafted world disrupted by anyone, most of all her legendary nemesis, Jack Bennett. He’s the opposite of the wonderful heroes she dreams up in her double life as a romance writer, which is why Emily was perfectly happy when Jack left Rome, Kentucky, mid-school year with his fiancée. The last thing Emily saw coming was Jack’s return at the start of the summer after calling off the wedding and ending his relationship, but he’s here to stay—as her colleague and her neighbor.

Jack is glad to be back, eager to renovate his house and work on the next mystery novel under his bestselling pen name. But when he realizes he’s now neighbors with the one woman who has always pushed his buttons, he discovers something he’s even more excited about—thwarting Emily and her petty plans to sabotage his return.

With their chemistry-fueled animosity at an all-time high, Emily accidentally sends an email to their school’s principal that could reveal her secret literary side hustle. She needs to steal back her manuscript, and Jack—she hates to admit—is just the man to help her. Surprisingly, he agrees. Will their unlikely alliance put an end to their rivalry? Or could it lead to a steamy plot twist they never saw coming?

“Feuding second-grade teachers learn they make a great team in this cute rivals-to-lovers romance, the third in Adams’s When in Rome series. This charms.”—Publishers Weekly

https://amzn.to/4fNmVbC

Adams hits it out of the park yet again with this feisty romance. Emily loves teaching second grade, especially since her nemesis, Jack, has moved away with his fiancée. After losing her parents when she was 8 years old, Emily can relate to family turmoil. She’s super organized and loves her students, and she always wants to be available for whatever they need.

Jack left his fiancée and got his teaching job back. He buys the only available property in this small town, a wreck of a house that turns out to be next door to Emily. They met freshman year in college when he bumped into her, spilling coffee all over her. She was in a bad place to begin with, reeling after her four-year high school relationship imploded. She takes out her anger on Jack, and they continue feuding all through college and then again when he lands a teaching job in the same school as Emily. Jack’s not sure why he feels so drawn to her when she has been so harsh to him, but he is determined to get her to soften her stance.

Emily is incensed that Jack has moved next door, and she persuades the towns people to not help him in any way. His contractor walks off the job, and the cashier in the supermarket gives him the stink eye, as do most of the residents. But Jack is a charmer, a trait he cultivated after growing up with his narcissist of a father, a best-selling mystery writer for over twenty years. Jack has watched his father be verbally abusive to his mother for years. He tries to help, but she won’t leave him.

Jack and Emily both have secrets. Emily has written a historical romance novel, her first, and is contemplating whether to burn it or submit it somewhere. Jack is actually a best-selling author, but he writes under a pseudonym. The only people who know his real identity are his agent and his publisher, and he wants to keep it that way.

As Emily and Jack start spending time together, she realizes he is not the villain she has made him out to be. Jack realizes that he has unrequited feelings for Emily, and is determined to worm his way into her heart. There are a lot of laughs along the way, and eventually, Emily realizes she is in love with Jack, and he is in love with her. But there are several bumps along the way before the happy ending. I loved these characters and their story, and the resolution rang true. Another excellent read from Adams!

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL by Sarah Adams. Dell (January 7, 2025). ISBN: 978-0593723692. 384p.

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NOW OR NEVER by Janet Evanovich

January 10, 2025

Stephanie Plum, Book 31

From the publisher:

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The latest Stephanie Plum novel from #1 New York Times bestseller and “the most popular mystery writer alive” (The New York Times) Janet Evanovich.

She said yes to Morelli. She said yes to Ranger. Now Stephanie Plum has two fiancés and no idea what to do about it. But the way things are going, she might not live long enough to marry anyone.

While Stephanie stalls for time, she buries herself in her work as a bounty hunter, tracking down an unusually varied assortment of fugitives from justice. There’s Eugene Fleck, a seemingly sweet online influencer who might also be YouTube star Robin Hoodie, masked hero to the homeless, who hijacks delivery trucks and distributes their contents to the needy. She’s also on the trail of Bruno Jug, a wealthy and connected man in the wholesale produce business who is rumored to traffic young girls alongside lettuce and tomatoes. Most terrifying of all is Zoran—a laundromat manager by day and self-proclaimed vampire by night with a taste for the blood of pretty girls. When he shows up on Stephanie’s doorstep, it’s not for the meatloaf dinner.

With timely assists from her stalwart supporters Lula, Connie, and Grandma Mazur, Stephanie uses every trick in the book to reel in these men. But only she can decide what to do about the two men she actually loves. She can’t hold Ranger and Morelli at bay for long, and she’s keeping a secret from them that is the biggest bombshell of all. Now or never, she’s got to make the decision of a lifetime.

“Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them . . . As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.” Kirkus Reviews

https://amzn.to/3DALcUV

I stopped reading this series a while ago but picked up the last book, the thirtieth in the series, just because it was such a milestone, and I really enjoyed it. This one, not as much, so not sure I’ll continue. Not that anyone has asked, but to be honest, this would be a good book to end the series on.

For the past thirty books, Stephanie has been going back and forth between the hunky former Special Forces now private security company owner Ranger, and her childhood sweetheart, the hunky good guy, Morelli. This is ostensibly a mystery series, and every book has at least one madcap mystery and usually more than one. I think the readers keep coming back for the laughs more than the mystery, but most importantly, for the romance. Who will she choose?

Thirty-one On the Run opens with Stephanie engaged to both Morelli and Ranger, so business as usual has taken a step up. She also thinks she’s pregnant, and is willing to marry whoever the father is. The mysteries involve picking up bail jumpers for various crimes and are usually more silly than scary, but there is always a sense of danger.

By the book’s end, the bail jumpers have all been rescheduled and Stephanie is married, (NO SPOILERS HERE!) so what is the point of going on after this?

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

NOW OR NEVER by Janet Evanovich. Atria Books (November 19, 2024). ISBN: 978-1668003138. 320p.

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Spotlight Review: NOT IN MY BOOK by Katie Holt

January 7, 2025

From the publisher:

Rosie writes romance novels and listens to Taylor Swift on loop. Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn’t believe in happy endings. They’re about to write a book together—what could go wrong?

The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious enemies-to-lovers romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.

Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian American, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her archnemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington—an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre or for Rosie.

Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must cowrite a novel that blends their genres.

The reluctant writing duo can’t help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings—and explore their attraction toward each other.

When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved—unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.

DECEMBER 2024 INDIE NEXT PICK!
LIBRARYREADS TOP PICK FOR DECEMBER!

“Atmospheric, beautifully conveying the appeal of bustling NYC . . . Readers will not be able to put down this delightful, witty romance.” —Library Journal

“Rosie [is] a particularly effective, effusive advocate when it comes to championing the delights of romance fiction.” —Booklist

https://amzn.to/42fXg8H

Katie and Aiden are taking a writing workshop at a prestigious university in New York City. Katie writes romance and the professor is Katie’s mentor, but she doesn’t pull any punches with her. Aiden writes literary fiction and is a complete snob about romance. Their in-class bickering reaches new heights of dysfunction and the professor decides to force them to write a book together. Katie will write romance and Aiden will do his thing and destroy her happy ending. They have no choice if they want to get a grade in this class, so they get to work.

It’s not an easy assignment but eventually, they find a way to do this. As they spend time together they start to have feelings for one another, but find the best way to communicate is through their characters and I really loved that. Both these characters had interesting backstories which added a lot of depth, and there was enough heat to set the pages on fire. The premise was appealing and the story compelling, making this an engaging read. Looking forward to what comes next!

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

NOT IN MY BOOK by Katie Holt. Alcove Press (December 10, 2024). ISBN: 978-1639109753. 32

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Audiobook Sunday: TRULY MADLY DEEPLY by L.J. Shen

January 5, 2025

Read by Lila Winters & Teddy Hamilton

Forbidden Love, Book 1

From the publisher:

This old flame just might set them on fire.

Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life: food.

Women are a distraction, and he doesn’t do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister’s best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she’s awkward, eccentric, infuriating…

And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.

Ambrose has a lot on his plate: a new restaurant to open, a multi-million-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.

Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.

Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.

Now? She’s the woman he’ll do anything to conquer.

Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can’t catch a break, and not just because she swore off running.

Back in her hometown to nurse her mother’s broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother—the one Cal’s been secretly crushing on since middle school.

Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.

Too bad she’s always been clumsy.

Truly, Madly, Deeply is a grumpy x sunshine, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is the first in the Forbidden Love series but can be listened to as a standalone.

https://amzn.to/4ggICBG

It’s a new year, and I’m trying something new. I’ve been listening to audiobook romances lately, so I’m going to try reviewing an audiobook every Sunday. We’ll see how it goes!

I’ve often wondered how I would feel listening to sex scenes, and this book tested my limits – turns out I didn’t mind at all. Although if I didn’t have AirPods in my ears, I don’t think I’d want to broadcast it into the atmosphere, if that makes sense?

This was one of the longer audiobooks I’ve read lately. Honestly, it probably could have used a bit of editing, it felt long. But I liked the characters and their backstories, and it definitely held my interest. Cal and Dylan have been best friends forever, but what Dylan doesn’t know is that Cal has a crush on her brother, Ambrose – like every other girl in school. Cal decides she wants to lose her virginity before heading off to college, and she asks Ambrose to be the one. Dylan catches them and their friendship blows up.

Several years later Cal returns home after losing her father, and she is broke. Ambrose runs a Michelin-starred restaurant in their small town, and his manager hires Cal. She desperately needs the money and would like to try and rekindle the friendship she had with Dylan. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Cal, Ambrose has been carrying a torch for her for years. He is mercurial and demanding as a boss and, as Cal comes to find out, as a lover. These relationships are new and somewhat precarious, and there is a lot of small town drama as well.

I liked how all these relationships were explored, and the character development kept me engrossed. This is a very spicy romance with some humor and witty banter, but it’s the drama that is the big draw here. These characters were complex, and the storyline was compelling. The narrators were very good and added dramatic tension to the story. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

TRULY MADLY DEEPLY by L.J. Shen. Narrators: Lila Winters, Teddy Hamilton. Dreamscape Media; September 10, 2024. ASIN: B0D5ZJWQZS. Listening Length: 15 hours and 50 minutes

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THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR by Ally Carter

January 3, 2025

From the publisher:

Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:

She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.

He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

The laugh out loud holiday “romystery” that you’ve been waiting for!

“Full of tongue-in-cheek humor, excellent dialogue, and fantastic characters, this expertly crafted story from Carter (The Blonde Identity) is a heart-melting rivals-to-lovers romance combined with a delightful locked-room mystery.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Perfect for fans of “Knives Out” and “The Hating Game,” this enemies-to-lovers cat-and-mouse game boasts serious stakeouts and charged make-outs.” — Washington Post

“Carter spins a clever romantic mystery with a Christmassy twist. [Her] impressive plotting means the final, Agatha Christie–esque reveal is a genuine surprise, and she pulls off the enemies-to-lovers trope beautifully. Romantic suspense fans on the hunt for something festive will want to snap this up.” — Publishers Weekly

“The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter blends genres with the expert hand of a bartender crafting the perfect gingerbread martini.” — People

https://amzn.to/3DMQTz8

I know Christmas is over but I don’t care – this was such a great read! It may be my favorite holiday read this season.

I love a good locked-room mystery, and this one goes above and beyond because in addition to the mystery, there are a lot of laughs and a romance, making this an unputdownable read.

Maggie is our heroine, a best selling cozy mystery writer who has a bit of a bump in her career when she dumps her husband after finding him in bed with her best (and only) friend. He manages to get his hands on her copyrights, and she is working her butt off, writing several books under a variety of pseudonyms to make enough money to buy him out. When she reluctantly attends her publisher’s holiday party, her editor tells her she has been invited to spend the holidays with her biggest fan, but won’t say who it is. She decides to go as she has no family and no one to spend the holidays with. She is shocked to find a private jet waiting to whisk her off to England, but before she can enjoy it too much, the “leather jacket” she hates shows up to make the trip as well.

Ethan is the “leather jacket”, a best selling thriller writer with the obligatory author photo on the back of the book with the very good looking Ethan wearing a leather jacket. Look at most thrillers and you will see a similar author photo, men and women alike. It’s a thing for sure. Maggie detests Ethan; for one thing he always calls her Marcie which she finds maddening. But off they go and it turns out the fan is Eleanor Ashley. Maggie has read every one of her 99 books, most more than once, and is shocked to find her own books in Eleanor’s library. After greeting her guests, she goes to work in her office, locking herself in. The next morning, the door is still locked but Eleanor is gone.

Maggie thinks that this is some sort of contest, possibly to pick her successor. There are several other guests there for the holidays, and everyone is a suspect to Eleanor’s disappearance. Maggie finds a clue in the library, but when she follows her instincts, she ends up outdoors with Ethan hot on her trail. When shots are fired at her, Ethan saves her and Maggie decides maybe he isn’t as bad as she thought.

There are lots of red herrings and suspects galore, but as Ethan and Maggie work together, it turns out they have more in common than she thought and feelings are burgeoning. This was a fast read with lots of laughs and a terrific mystery with a totally unexpected ending, and I loved it!

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR by Ally Carter. Avon (September 24, 2024). ISBN: 978-0063276680. 304p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

HOW MY NEIGHBOR STOLE CHRISTMAS by Meghan Quinn

January 3, 2025

From the publisher:

A new holiday enemies-to-lovers romance from USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn.

Every Kringle in Kringletown celebrated Christmas a lot.

But Cole Black on Whistler Lane, unfortunately, did not.

As his fellow citizens decorate their quaint town, brimming with carols and glad tidings, Cole wants nothing more than to hibernate the winter away. But his dreary plans are thwarted when his Christmas nemesis, Storee Taylor, moves in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Immediately, the new neighbor turns his life into a real nightmare before Christmas, especially when she decides to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest in honor of Cindy. And better yet, Storee is determined to win.

Over Cole’s dead body, she will. With help from his friend Max, Cole decides to enter the competition as well, to beat Storee at her own game by pretending that this hometown grump’s heart has grown three sizes this season and he’s fallen for the girl next door. And unfortunately for Storee, she has to follow his lead to have a chance at the Christmas Kringle title.

But the competition isn’t the only thing that heats up. Cole and Storee’s fake relationship becomes very real, and before they know it, they’re attempting to hide it from Aunt Cindy. Things get complicated, the competition gets tough, and all it takes is one single night for someone to steal it all…

This book has gotten so much buzz, granted mostly from TikTok, but I heard it was really cute and funny so I went for it. The thirty-second elevator pitch is a contemporary rom-com based on The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, replete with chapter introductory bad Seuss-like poetry. Really bad. Seuss-spinning-in-his-grave bad. But the poetry was just a tiny part of the story.

Theoretically, this is a small-town romance with the always popular enemies-to-lovers trope as well as a smidge of fake dating, and it is Christmas all the way in this small town of Whoville, I mean Kringletown. The town leader is Bob Krampus, and this whole town celebrates Christmas all year long, culminating in the annual Christmas Kringle contest, a series of holiday-themed challenges from home decor to crafting to caroling and more. Storee’s favorite Aunt Cindy is recovering from hip replacement surgery and needs help. Storee’s sister is a nurse and she corrals Storee into spending the holidays in Kringletown and helping Aunty Cindy out.

Storee is surprised to find out that while her sister will be doing the actual caregiving, including a long-running and not-funny joke about cleaning her “crevices”, Cindy wants Storee to enter the contest. Cindy came in second the previous year and is determined to take the crown this year. Storee reluctantly agrees and it looks like it will be a fun time for all until the next-door neighbor, Cole, also decides to enter. Storee and Cole were friends when they were younger, but Storee hasn’t been back in Kringletown for ten years and for some reason, Cole is really pissed about it. These enemies resolve their issues rather quickly but don’t tell anyone, hence the “fake-dating” that is really only fake to probably Storee’s sister and aunt. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, but it leads to a lot of sex including the TikTok infamous candy cane sex scene. The Christmas contest challenges are adorable but it just went on forever.

This author was new to me, and I’m sorry to say that this book was too over the top for me; three-quarters of the way through I felt like I was overdosing on Christmas cutesiness. I slogged through the rest to get to the happy ending. Not my favorite Christmas romance.

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HOW MY NEIGHBOR STOLE CHRISTMAS by Meghan Quinn. Bloom Books (October 15, 2024). ISBN: 978-1464230158. 480p.