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From the publisher:

Enemies-to-lovers meets HGTV in this frothy, effervescent romantic comedy from Sophie Sullivan, author of Ten Rules for Faking It.

Interior Design School? Check. Cute house to fix up? Check.

Sexy, grumpy neighbor who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately.

Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, she’ll get her degree and her dream job. Most importantly, she’ll have a place to belong, something her harsh mother could never make. When an opportunity to fix up―and live in―a little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door.

Noah Jansen knows how to make a deal. As a real estate developer, he knows when he’s found something special. Something he could even call home. Provided he can expand by taking over the house next door–the house with the combative and beautiful woman living in it.

With the rules for being neighborly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.

https://amzn.to/33pOWHj

When her long estranged grandmother dies and Grace inherits her beach house, she is thrilled. She longs for a connection to family; her mother is wrapped up in herself and whatever money she can squeeze out of Grace, but the house means something. Except her next door neighbor, Noah, assumes he can just buy it out from under her. He wants the land to put in a pool to complete his dream house on the beach, but Grace is not interested in selling. Not that he gives up that easily.

Grace is also steps away from completing her interior design degree so she relishes the chance to fix up the long neglected cottage. On the other hand, Noah is busy hiring people to fix up his home, and there is a national magazine interested in featuring it. Except they want a bit more than a photo spread; they want to do a video series showcasing the house as the work is done, and they want the up-and-coming designer, Grace, to take over the project. The chemistry between Noah and Grace is obvious to everyone, and eventually they find a way to get together.

Grace is all hands on; Noah is all about the money. Until Grace puts a paintbrush in his hand. Opposites do attract here!

If you enjoy all those fixer-upper type TV shows as much as I do, then this is the book for you. It’s a lot of fun and an easy, thoroughly enjoyable read.

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR by Sophie Sullivan. Griffin (January 18, 2022). ISBN: 978-1250624185. 352p.

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From the publisher:

An absolutely hilarious romantic comedy set in Ireland…

A newly single girl. A tall dark handsome stranger. What could go wrong?

It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and Abby Reynolds isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to be in her beautiful loft apartment in Manhattan, drinking a coffee with her fiancé.

Instead, she’s heading back to the childhood home in rural Ireland she swore she’d never return to, with some big old secrets. Namely that she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless, and absolutely 100% single.

She’s feeling all out of luck. Until the first person she meets after she touches down is an absurdly hot guy called Luke, who offers her a lift home. Gazing deep into his sparkling emerald-green eyes, Abby knows instantly that he’s exactly what she needs to take her mind off everything. The perfect rebound.

It’s a flawless plan. Until the next day, when Abby realizes who he actually is. Not just a stranger. He is, in fact, Luke Bailey, aka the boy next door. Luke Bailey who—so help her God—she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids. Not that she can allow herself to imagine him in a bath now, not without blushing from head to foot.

And judging by the smirk on his face, the same Luke Bailey who’s known exactly who she was the whole time… And who, like everyone in the village, still thinks she’s a high-flying New Yorker… who’s getting married next year.

Abby is certain getting under Luke will help her get over her ex. But the truth is stopping her. Can she admit to everyone back home that she’s single and has lost everything? Because, if she wants the boy next door, she may just have to…

The perfect feel-good romantic comedy that will make you laugh until you cry and fall completely in love. Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, and Emily Henry won’t be able to put this down!

https://amzn.to/3oNEOzw

Abby has been dumped. Her fiancé has decided that he doesn’t want to get married. Luckily, the mega financial company she works for has some apartments, generally used for new hires, available so at least she has a place to live.

Abby has always been driven, leaving the small town of Clonard, Ireland for college and never looking back. She loves the Manhattan lifestyle afforded her by her years with the company, and has all her funds tied up with them. So when they go under, she and thousands of others find themselves out of work and broke. Plus she’s now homeless as well. The only solution she sees is to go home to Ireland.

Abby’s sister is living in their family home and while they don’t really get along – she is a strong environmentalist/activist while Abby is working for the epitome of corporate greed, she knows her sister will take her in. But she’s embarrassed to admit she is no longer engaged on top of everything else.

Luke gives Abby a ride home when she is stranded at the airport. He remembers her well – he always had a crush on her. Abby flirts the whole way home without realizing that this hot man is actually the neighbor she grew up with. Once she figures it out, and he figures out she is engaged, things get complicated between them in spite of their growing attraction.

There are a lot of laughs and some angst before they reach their happy ending. Abby is a strong woman and Luke is an honorable, honest man, and I really liked them both. The setting and secondary characters were quirky and fun, and altogether this was a terrific, heart warming read.

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE REBOUND by Catherine Walsh. ‎ Bookouture (February 9, 2022). ISBN: 978-1800195677. 324p.

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From the publisher:

Sadie wasn’t looking for love until it landed on her doorstep.

After getting passed over for an overdue—and much-needed—promotion, Sadie Green is in desperate need of three things: a stiff drink, a new place to live, and a one-night stand. But when an accidental mix-up lands her on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone, it’s too bad Sadie is more attracted to the impressive real estate than she is to the man himself.

Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

https://amzn.to/3J48y2K

This story really stretches the boundaries of suspension of disbelief, but it was worth it just for the scene where Sadie loses her job – one of my favorite scenes, ever! She says what anyone in that position would think but probably never say and I loved it. The rest of the story was good, too, just a little bit over the top.

Finding a beautiful brownstone in the trendiest section of Brooklyn with a room to rent for some ridiculously cheap rent – no. But it was important to the story so I pretended to believe it. Maybe if there was some sort of explanation about why Jack was willing to rent it so cheap I would have understood it better, but nope. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter except that these decisions set the story in motion.

Jack lost his parents several years earlier and has had a very hard time dealing with it. Sadie loses her job and with the cheap rent she is now paying, she can afford to pursue her dream of starting her own floral business. All that aside, it is the relationship that grows between the mysterious, close mouthed Jack and the outgoing social butterfly, Sadie, that is at the heart of this story. Everything else doesn’t really matter.

This was a very enjoyable read and a sweet romance. I loved these characters and the setting and highly recommend!

2/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LEASE ON LOVE by Falon Ballard. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (February 1, 2022). ISBN: 978-0593419915. 352p.

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Captivity, Alaska: Book 2

From the publisher:

Bush pilot Bridget Shanahan runs from responsibility like a child runs from a dentist appointment, but when her brother leaves the family’s airfield in her hands, she knows it’s time to step up and behave like a Responsible Adult™. So of course that’s when Archer Ellison III blows into her tiny town of Captivity, Alaska, every inch the hot-as-hell mistake that most definitely belongs in her past. Been there, done that, and didn’t even get to keep the commemorative sweatshirt.

Archer has only ever had two goals. Now that he’s built his own empire outside his father’s company, he can move on to goal #2—winning back the one who got away by whatever means necessary. He knows it won’t be easy. Bridget Shanahan is older, wiser, more self-assured, and jaw-droppingly stunning…and doing everything she can to pretend the scorching chemistry between them doesn’t exist.

But fate is on his side. After an impulsive bet that would have sent Archer packing goes awry, Bridget is officially stuck with him. Which is really inconvenient, since falling for Archer again is the least responsible thing she could do.

https://amzn.to/3HyVem6

I loved the first book in this series, Wild in Captivity, so I was really looking forward to this one. I am happy to say it did not disappoint! Set in the small town of Captivity, Alaska, this book centers on Bridget, younger sister to Trace, the main character in the first book. All we really know about Bridget is that she is the flighty, irresponsible one working at the airport in the family business. She loves to fly, just doesn’t love to fly on someone else’s schedule. But Trace and Izzy are going on their honeymoon, which means Bridget has to step up.

Best laid plans and all that…the honeymooners leave, and Bridget runs into Archer, her college boyfriend who suddenly dumped her and took off. Bridget was heartbroken and dropped out of Stanford to come home. It’s a few years later but she has more to deal with than the jerk who broke her heart. She also lost her twin brother in a horrible accident, and for some reason, he keeps coming back to talk to her. Or his ghost does. It’s not too out there, but rather comforting, I think.

Archer has moved to Captivity on a permanent basis. Finally out from under his father’s thumb, he is determined to win back Bridget, the only girl he ever loved and lost. She doesn’t want any part of him, and they make a bet: if she wins, he’ll keep away from her, if he wins, he gets a kiss. So sweet! But this is not a sweet romance, it is a very steamy one, so if that is not your jam, read something else.

I would call this enemies-to-lovers adjacent. When Archer left, Bridget was devastated and she hasn’t had a relationship since, other than one night stands here and there. So the fact that Archer is back and pretty up front about wanting her back doesn’t sit well with Bridget. Sex, on the other hand, is fine with her. In this romance, sex leads the way back to love, and that worked.

This was a fun read with a lot of laugh out loud moments, and I really liked these characters. I love the small town Alaska setting, as well. Highly recommend this book, and this series. Oh, and Keyush is back, too, that smart Malamute/Husky mix dog that talks.

Which reminds me…there was an article in the NY Times recently about a small town in Alaska and something they are doing in school that I found most unusual. I have never lived anywhere outside of a city or suburb, so rural life is always interesting to me. I am anti-hunting as a rule, anti-guns to be honest, but I’ve read enough to understand why not everyone feels that way. My husband was shocked when I didn’t rage against this but rather embraced it; seemed like a great class for that Alaskan town.

We Shot a Moose, Class. There Will Be a Quiz.
A small group of Alaskan middle-schoolers gets a hands-on lesson in hunting and processing food from the land.

Books are wonderful things – they open the mind and take you places you never dreamed of. Enjoy!

1/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

PLAYING DIRTY IN ALASKA by Samanthe Beck. Entangled: Amara (January 17, 2022). ASIN : ‎ B09JMWPZG4. 372p.

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