Tag: Wena’s Reviews

Review: People We Meet on Vacation

Posted February 12, 2026 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

People We Meet on Vacation

Starring: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth
Also Starring: Sarah Catherine Hook, Lucien Laviscount, Mile Heizer
Country: United States
Year Released: 2026
Source: Netflix
Production Company: 3000 Pictures, Netflix Studios, Sony Pictures Releasing
Duration: 1 hour, 57 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Genres: Romance, Romantic Comedy
Tags: Friends to Lovers, Best Friends, Second Chance, Opposites Attract, Forced Proximity, Slow Burn Romance, Then and Now

Poppy wants to explore the world and Alex prefers to stay home with a good book, but somehow they are the very best of friends. They live far apart, but for a decade they have spent one week of summer vacation together.

I watched this movie without having read the book so I won’t be comparing the book to the movie. I have read some books by Emily Henry and I will admit that I wasn’t super impressed but this movie was good. I really enjoyed it. I thought the relationship between Alex and Poppy was cute right from the very beginning. From their first meeting, on the road trip, seeing Poppy win Alex over was a lot of fun.

Poppy has the kind of personality that is a lot to take so it would have been easy for me to dislike her flighty personality but she was my favorite character. She was such an easy character to connect with because her fears and her emotional issues are familiar. There were moments when my heart hurt for her but when she finally gets it together and puts things in motion, I was rooting for her big time.

Alex was my kind of hero. A little stiff, big heart, and confident in his feelings. He wasn’t so stiff that he was no fun and I really liked vacation Alex. The Alex that stood beside Poppy and had grand adventures all over the world. The Alex that showed up at Poppy’s house because she was too sick to go on a trip. The Alex that danced to Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul with Poppy. He was a lot of fun, and while I wasn’t the biggest fan of his relationship with Sarah even though he was clearly very in love with Poppy but we can’t all be perfect, LOL.

I thought the duration of this movie was just right because I didn’t feel like there were a lot of wasted scenes that didn’t add anything to move the story along. I was invested in the story being told, and while I didn’t understand all of Poppy’s decisions, or all of Alex’s feelings, I never not liked them. I never not rooted for them to find their happily ever after. This was a classic slow burn romance between best friends who fumbled their way along until they got it right and I was here for it. This movie was cute, it was fun, and I’m glad I watched it.

Final Rating

4 out of 5

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Review: My Coworker by Freida McFadden

Posted February 11, 2026 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The book cover for The Coworker by Freida McFadden. Red high heel in front of an elevator with splattered blood on it.

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

Reviewer: Wena
Main Leads: Dawn Schiff, Natalie Farrell
Setting: United States, Massachussetts, Boston
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Tags: Revenge, School Violence, Suicide
Published On: August 23, 2023
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Format: Audio
Source: Purchased
Pages: 362
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can’t be taken back

Dawn Schiff is strange. At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn’t show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell—beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running—is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything…

It turns out Dawn wasn’t just an awkward outsider—she was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who’s the real victim?

But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill.

This was my first completed read of the year. It wasn’t the book that I would typically have chosen to read but you know what? I’m not even mad about it. Freida McFadden isn’t one of my favorite authors but I can’t deny that she writes entertaining stories that make me laugh even though the stories are wildly dark and super chaotic. This book isn’t an exception. The last book of hers that I read was The Housemaid, and this book reminded me so much of that book. The writing style is the same so it was easy for me to follow along and guess everything. And guess everything, I did. I called everything that was going to happen before it happened.

The book follows Natalie Farrell as she tries to find out what happened to her coworker, Dawn Schiff. Dawn doesn’t show up for work and Natalie takes a call at her desk that is disturbing so Natalie tries to find out what happened to Dawn, to see if Dawn’s okay, and falls down a rabbit hole that just keeps getting worse and worse for her. And I gotta tell you, every choice that Natalie makes is the worst possible choice she can make and every single time, I got more and more annoyed because with every passing page, I liked her less and less.

I don’t want to get into too much of the story because this isn’t the kind of story that you can talk about without spoiling the book so I will say that with every bad choice that Natalie makes, the story unfolds just a little bit more and the more light is shed on Dawn, what happened to Dawn, and hell, even the kind of person that Natalie is. This was written in a way that is easy to follow along with, but not easy to read, if that makes sense. The more you find out, the more you feel like you’ve been kicked in the nuts. This isn’t an easy book to recommend but it was entertaining. I did say, “I know you’re fucking lying” more than once and when all is said and done, I wasn’t mad that I read it.

Final Rating

3.5 out of 5

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Review: Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne

Posted October 21, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne

Reviewer: Wena
Main Leads: Tom Walsh, Katherine Tate
Setting: United States, New York, New York City
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Tags: Second Chance Romance, Hate to Love, Married Couple
Published On: October 24, 2023
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 250
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne–and her real life husband and high school sweetheart, Anthony LeDonne–comes a new holiday romcom that is sure to warm even the coldest heart.

Katherine, an ambitious NYC attorney, gets diagnosed with a concussion and must be monitored for 48 hours to make sure it doesn’t get worse. Unfortunately, she forgot to update her emergency contact so the person they call is her ex-husband, Tom. Unable to be left alone, Katherine reluctantly agrees to travel to Chicago with Tom for the holidays. But thanks to a blizzard, what should have been a quick plane ride turns into an antagonistic overnight misadventure that stirs up old feelings even as Tom prepares to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve.

A delightful meet-cute between The Proposal and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Emergency Contact is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne.

Lauren Layne is one of my favorite authors and reading her books always make me happy. This book was another winner of a Lauren Layne story and even though it’s only October, this holiday romance really has me looking forward to Christmas. It’s a second chance romance between…a divorced couple. And I don’t know what I was expecting but whatever I was expecting went right out the window once I started the book. I read this book so fast that you’d have thought I wasn’t in one of the worst reading slumps ever. That’s how good Lauren Layne is. She writes smart romances with characters that leap right off the pages and into your heart. Kate and Tom are no different. Seeing these two fall in love again after being apart was fun. There were a lot of silly things and shenanigans that I could have done without but overall, the story was still solid and I still rather enjoyed the entire story.

Kate is a busy lawyer who is on track to becoming a partner at her law firm. When she gets a concussion, she finds out that she never updated her emergency contact so she’s shocked when her ex-husband, Tom, shows up to take care of her. They’re both not happy about the situation but Kate reluctantly agrees to go home with him for the holidays. Tom is determined to not let Kate sidetrack his plans with his present day girlfriend but when everything that can go wrong, goes wrong, Tom and Kate find themselves with nothing but time to finally deal with their feelings, both past and present, to figure out what to do about their future.

Kate was a stubborn heroine that was determined to live the life she promised her father, she lived and it took her a long time to realize that plans change and that’s okay. Her plans and her headstrong determination to stick to her plans cost her, her relationship with Tom and though she’s learned to live without him, being around him again makes her miss him all the more. And coming to the realization that her feelings for Tom are still present is something that she needs to figure out what to do about. Tom, determined to not make the same mistake twice is determined to get things right with his new girlfriend and even though life seems to be twisting him this way and that, he starts to hesitate because Kate is back and being with her has brought so many memories back, so many feelings, and he’s starting to think that he needs to deal with all that baggage if he has a shot at a final happy ending for himself.

There’s a lot that goes into this story and while I could have done without some of it, I can’t deny that I enjoyed both Kate and Tom together. They were such a well-matched couple and seeing them come to terms that their feelings, both past and present, are more present than past, was fun. Kate frustrated me a lot with her insistence that she was fine on her own, that her work was more important that everything else but even with all of my frustrations, I still liked her. I really liked her with Tom. Then there was Tom. I really liked Tom but seeing him fall for Kate again while he’s still, technically, in a relationship, shadowed my enjoyment some. Layne and LeDonne did a good job of wrapping that up so I was glad. Tom and Kate’s romance was simmering with so much chemistry and lots of sexual tension that I was happy when they finally got together. Lauren Layne and Anthony LeDonne wrote a sweet and fun romance with characters I really came to love but that’s to be expected from Lauren Layne. She never steers me wrong. This was a solid romance and though it isn’t one of my favorites, I still enjoyed it and recommend it if you’re in the mood for a sweet holiday romance.

Final Rating

3.5 out of 5

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Review: Reel by Kennedy Ryan

Posted October 14, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Reel by Kennedy Ryan

Reviewer: Wena
Series: Hollywood Renaissance #1
Main Leads: Cannon Holt, Neevah Saint
Setting: United States, New York, New York City
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Tags: Workplace Romance, Actress Female Lead, Director Male Lead
Published On: June 8, 2021
Publisher: Scribechick Media, LLC
Format: Audio
Source: Purchased
Pages: 434
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Award-Winning Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kennedy Ryan launches a brand-new series with a Hollywood tale of wild ambition, artistic obsession, and unrelenting love.

One moment in the spotlight…

For months I stood by, an understudy waiting in the wings, preparing for my time to shine.

I never imagined he would watch in the audience that night.

Canon Holt.

Famous film director. Fascinating. Talented. Fine.

Before I could catch my breath, everything changed. I went from backstage Broadway to center stage Hollywood.

From being unknown, to my name, Neevah Saint, on everyone’s lips.

Canon casts me in a star-studded Harlem Renaissance biopic, catapulting me into another stratosphere.

But stars shine brightest in the dead of night.

Forbidden attraction, scandal and circumstances beyond my control jeopardize my dream.

Could this one shot — the role of a lifetime, the love of a lifetime — cost me everything?

Kennedy Ryan is one of those authors that never fails to write the kind of books that I can’t put down. This book pulled me out of a reading slump and I was hooked right from the very beginning. This is another author that I wanted to introduce to Brenna and she read this book along with me and she enjoyed it as well and that makes me so happy. I knew that she would enjoy this one because Kennedy Ryan writes compelling stories about complex characters that really pull at your heartstrings and draws you so deeply into the story that the stories, along with the characters stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. Ryan also tends to write really heavy stories and so they’re not books that you can easily jump into but I’m happy to say that though the characters are put through the wringer in this one, I didn’t find this story to be quite as heavy as all of the others though it didn’t shy away from packing on the emotions.

Cannon and Neevah’s romance was a slow burn that came together so wonderfully and I very much enjoyed it. It was a moving story about two people that connected on a level that was hard to fight against and when they both stop fighting their feelings, their love for each other was too good. I thought that they were such great characters on their own but I really loved their dynamic together. Their stories weren’t easy but seeing them come to love and support each other was everything.

Neevah and Cannon meet when Neevah finally gets her break, an understudy stepping up when the lead actress goes down. It had taken so long for Neevah to finally get her break and when she nails the role, just as we all knew she would, she catches the eye of Cannon Holt, a film director. Meeting Cannon on that particular night really changed her life in more ways than one. When he casts her to be the lead in her first film, Neevah couldn’t predict that she’d find a role that was meant for her or that she’d fall in love with the man that cast her in the role.

Neevah was an interesting female lead and it was so easy to connect with her and with her story because a lot of her struggles, a lot of her worries, were all things that I struggled with at one point in time. It wasn’t hard to root for her and for her happiness because she was such a likable character. I rejoiced through her ups and I was sad through her downs. She had such a good head on her shoulders that I really enjoyed getting to know her. As good as she was, she wasn’t perfect and seeing her struggle with prioritizing her health and her work made her story all the more interesting. I loved seeing her learn to lean on Cannon and trust that he loved her the way that she deserved, even when she was embarrassed to show herself to him.

The romance between Cannon and Neevah was such a good one. Seeing them fall into their feelings and all the drama that comes with falling in love on set made for an interesting read. It definitely wasn’t boring. There was so much going on and so much to love that reading this book took no time at all. Kennedy Ryan did such a great job of putting words to paper that moved the hell out of me. I thought she did a great job of pulling string after string until the strings came together to tell a complete story of two complex but interesting characters and I’m so glad that I read this one. Cannon was fine as hell and seeing his grumpy ass fall for Neevah and then strive to support her and prove to her that he’s all in was such a good time. I loved all of him and loved the way that he loved Neevah.

This book was so good and I’m so glad that I read it. I definitely recommend.

Final Rating

4.5 out of 5

Hollywood Renaissance Series

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Review: Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Posted October 7, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Reviewer: Wena
Main Leads: Jason Andrews, Taylor Donovan
Setting: United States, California, Los Angeles
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Tags: Hate to Love, He Fell First, Badass Female Lead
Published On: October 7, 2008
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 296
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

No woman could resist him—except the one he wanted most…

Cool, Calm, Collected…

Nothing fazes Taylor Donovan. In the courtroom she never lets the opposition see her sweat. In her personal life, she never lets any man rattle her—not even her cheating ex-fiancé. So when she’s assigned to coach People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for his role in his next big legal thriller, she refuses to fall for the Hollywood heartthrob’s charms. Even if he is the Jason Andrews.

Confident, Famous, Irresistible…

Jason Andrews is used to having women fall at his feet. When Taylor Donovan gives him the cold shoulder, he’s thrown for a loop. She’s unlike any other woman he’s ever met: uninterested in the limelight, seemingly immune to his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him. She’s the perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to realize she may just be his perfect match.

It’s been such a long time since I’ve read this book and I’m super happy to report that it stood the test of time. I still love this book as much as I did the first time that I read it. I really miss reading books by Julie James and now that my daughter is reading, I’m having a blast introducing her to some of my favorite authors and books. This is one of the first books that she actually agreed to read with me and I’m thrilled that she loved reading this book as well.

Reading this book after so many years reminded me how much I used to love reading. This book in particular reminded me how much I used to love blogging about books because blogging introduced me to Julie James, who I’ve come to admire because she writes my kind of stories. Smart stories with steamy romances and characters that I adore to pieces. The only thing missing from this story is the steamy scenes but I can’t even be bothered to be mad about that because the story was still engaging, the characters were still charming as hell, and the book itself is still a memorable romance that stayed with me long after I finished. Bren finished the book before I did and I was glad to hear that she enjoyed it so it sped my reading.

So Taylor Donovan is a lawyer working a big case in the Los Angeles office of her law firm when she’s assigned the task of showing Jason Andrews, an A-List actor the ropes of being a lawyer…or in his case, playing the role of being an attorney. Jason’s new film has him playing an attorney and he’s determined to nail the role by doing what he does best, learning all there is to learn, first hand, about being a lawyer and bringing his character to life. On top of showing Jason the ropes, she’s going to be consulting on the film’s script to make sure that the writing makes sense from an actual lawyer. As busy as she is, she’s not given a choice in the matter so she squeezes these appointments into her work day and would have been professional about it all, had Jason not stood her up and wasted her time. Now, the very last thing she wants to do is help him.

Jason Andrews is a busy man. He works hard and he plays hard as well. Everyone loves him so when he meets Taylor Donovan, he’s surprised that she doesn’t fall at his feet, wanting to help him. Sure, he can get help from anyone but there’s something about Taylor Donovan that pulls at him and his curiosity makes him determined that he work with her and only her. If anything, things will definitely be interesting and he witnessed first hand just how good she is in the courtroom so his gut is telling him that it’s gotta be her…so he’s got to be on his best behavior because for the first time in a long time, he’s met someone that isn’t thrilled to be in his presence.

There’s a lot going on in this book and the writing style drew me in so I was invested from the jump. As much as I enjoyed the story the last time that I read it, enough time has past that I couldn’t remember a lot of the details so it kind of felt like I was reading this for the first time. I really enjoyed getting to know both Taylor and Jason again but it was also really good to see the side characters again. I didn’t think that the romance suffered without the typical steamy scenes we usually get from a romance so that was just another reason to like Julie James efforts in writing this story for Taylor and Jason. They were a fantastic couple and seeing them come together in love was a lot of fun so if you’re looking for a fun contemporary romance with a swoony hero and a kickass heroine, look no further cause this book delivers the goods. I definitely recommend!

Final Rating

4 out of 5

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Review: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Posted July 14, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Reviewer: Wena
Main Leads: Phoebe Stone
Setting: United States, Rhode Island, Newport
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Tags: Extramarital Affair, Grief & Loss, Suicidal Character
Published On: July 30, 2024
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 384
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe’s plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

This book has been on my TBR pile ever since I became aware of it last year so when it was my turn to choose a book discussion book of the month, this book was the only option for me. This book surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. I expected to enjoy it but I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I really enjoyed the author’s way of telling this story. There’s a lot of heavy themes throughout but Espach did such a great job of infusing humor throughout as to not bog the story that was being told down too much.

When we find out why Phoebe is at the Cornwall Inn, I didn’t think that there were any other things that would surprise me but boy was I wrong. From beginning to end, I was invested in the story being told, in the characters that we’re introduced to, and in seeing Phoebe come to life. Seeing the change in Phoebe throughout the book made for an interesting read and gave me a lot of hope that things and people can always turn around. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. We just need to keep going.

This is the first book that I’ve read by Alison Espach but it won’t be the last. I liked her writing style and I thought she did a great job of bringing the setting to life. With each passing page, I didn’t want Phoebe to leave. Newport, Rhode Island was good for Phoebe and Phoebe was good for Newport, Rhode Island. As crazy and chaotic as things got for everyone at the wedding, at the hotel, and for Phoebe, I liked it all. Espach did a great job of balancing the humor with the heavier topics and because of that, I’m looking forward to reading more from this author. I definitely recommend this book.

Final Rating

4 out of 5

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Review: The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

Posted July 7, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

Reviewer: Wena
Series: The Greene Sisters #1
Main Leads: Lily Greene, Nick Brown
Setting: United States, New York, Brooklyn
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Tags: Neighbors Romance, Second Chance Romance, Fell in Love through Emails
Published On: February 28, 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 403
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In this heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest, a shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with.

Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over e-mail turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain–until he ghosts her.

Months later, still crushed but determined to take charge of her life, Lily seeks a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, whom she feels drawn to for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author–her favorite fantasy author.

Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet woman from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over e-mail months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but–not when he can’t get her off his mind.

Kristina Forest is a new to me author and this book came onto my radar when it was chosen to be a monthly book club read. I try to read all of our book club books and so I went into this book with hope of a sweet and fun read with charming characters and a romance that made me smile. I’m happy to report that I got what I was hoping for and Kristina Forest was added to my TBR list. I really enjoyed their writing style and am very curious about the other Greene sisters so I’ll definitely be checking their stories out.

The Neighbor Favor is the first book in the The Greene Sisters series and it follows Lily Greene as she bumbles her way toward true love. Lily is shy and doesn’t feel like she measures up to her successful sisters. She works for a publishing company and is itching to be an editor for children’s books but she stuck in the non-fiction department with no clue how to get ahead. When she starts emailing back and forth with her favorite author, the book really takes off. At least, it did for me.

I loved seeing them both fall in love with each other with each passing email. The way that words were such a big part of their lives and then falling in love through exchanged words? Ahh, I was a sucker for it all. I was also a fan of them being neighbors in real life and not knowing. It was a lot of fun seeing each interaction between the two of them and though I didn’t quite understand Nick’s reasons for the way that he walked away from Lily and everything, even when he finds out who Lily is in his real life, I wasn’t mad at him. His reasons and his feelings were valid so even though I didn’t personally understand them, all is well that ends well and when their feelings are all out there, their issues all dealt with, and they decide to be together, I was satisfied and super happy for them.

I’m glad that I read this one and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this world. I was really drawn to both Violet and Iris so I’m looking forward to seeing them front and center. This was a great read and I definitely recommend it to those looking for a modern romance between a shy editor and a troubled author who find love in each other and make promises to choose to show up for each other every day. The book wasn’t perfect but it was perfect enough to be super enjoyable so go out and get this one. Read it. Love it. And then go back for more with the following books.

Final Rating

4 out of 5

The Greene Sisters Series

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Review: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Posted June 23, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Reviewer: Wena
Main Leads: William Weston, Anna Green
Setting: United States, California, Palo Alto, Los Angeles
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Tags: Contract Marriage, Fake Relationship, Rich Family Drama
Published On: May 14, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Gallery Books
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 352
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Half Price Books

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents — his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

Christina Lauren is one of my feel good authors. Every single book that I read by them brings me all the joy. The Paradise Problem was no exception. This is such a fun summer read and I was able to escape the reality of my pretty mundane life for a few hours and just enjoy being part of a pretty chaotic island getaway while our main couple falls in love.

Liam “West” Weston is a rich guy with an inheritance that comes with strings. In order to gain access to his inheritance, he needs his brothers college friend Anna Green to marry him. But the charade doesn’t end with them getting married. They have to pretend to be in love and in a real marriage so Anna moves into West’s place and they pretend their life away. The arrangement works for the both of them because 1) they’re married in name only and 2) they give each other space to live their lives even though they share living space. All of that comes to an end when they go their separate ways and sign the divorce papers…only three years later, West finds out that they’re not actually divorced and they need to come together and play pretend some more because along with finding out they’re still technically married, he also found out some other stipulations of the inheritance so West needs Anna in a way he wasn’t prepared to need anyone.

As a struggling artist, it doesn’t take much to convince Anna to take on the role of West’s wife again, especially when West is all too happy to pay her some serious cash for her troubles. All she needs to do is fly to a tropical island and attend West’s sisters wedding and pretend that they’re still madly in love and happily married.

There’s a lot going on in this story between West’s family shenanigans, West’s personal struggles with his father, and Anna’s own struggles with where she’s at in her life, taking care of her father, and dealing with all of that while falling in love with each other really kicks them both in the ass and I really enjoyed seeing them work through their struggles and come together in love. It was messy, it was steamy, and with the beautiful island back drop, I was hella invested. They were so much fun getting to know on their own, especially Anna, that it was not hard to root for them. There were times when I didn’t understand why West thought and did the things that he did but I just chalked it up to rich people problems. I cannot connect with that but I still really loved West and I really loved the way that he loved Anna. They were such a fun couple and I was completely satisfied with their story, their romance, and all of the secondary characters made the story pop even more so I wasn’t mad about any of them, not even West’s dickhead Dad. I definitely recommend this if you’re in the mood for a steamy romance that makes you laugh with characters that will charm your socks off. It’s good, I promise!

Final Rating

4 out of 5

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Review: Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh

Posted June 13, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh

Series: Psy-Changelings #22, Psy-Changeling Trinity #7
Main Leads: Yakov Stepyrev, Theodora Marshall
Setting: Russia, Moscow
Tags: Changeling Hero, Psy Heroine, Past Trauma, Abuse, Set in Future
Genres: Romance, Paranormal
Published On: July 18, 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 384
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Where are the broken? That is the propulsive question that unleashes a world of secrets in New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s Resonance Surge . . .

StoneWater bears Pavel and Yakov Stepyrev have been a unit since birth, but now Pavel’s life is veering in a new direction, his heart held in the hands of Arwen Mercant, a Psy empath—and the only man who has ever brought Pavel to his knees.

This is it. A point of irrevocable change. For Pavel . . . for Arwen . . . for Yakov . . . and for another pair of twins whose bond has a far darker history.

A low-Gradient Psy, Theodora Marshall is considered worthless by everyone but her violently powerful twin, Pax. She is the sole person he trusts in their venomous family to investigate a hidden and terrible part of their family history—an unregistered rehabilitation Center established by their grandfather.

Places of unimaginable pain designed to psychically wipe minds, leaving the victims shells of their former selves, the Centers are an ugly vestige of the Psy race’s Silent past. But this Center was worse. Far, far worse. And now Theo must uncover the awful truth—in the company of a scowling bear named Yakov, who isn’t about to take a Marshall at face value . . . especially a Marshall who has turned his dreams into chilling nightmares.

Because Yakov is the great-grandson of a foreseer . . . and he has seen Theo die in an unstoppable surge of blood. Night after night after night . . .

This is the seventh book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series and even during my years long reading slump, this series is one of the only series that I am still reading. Being back in this world is such a comfort to me that I don’t think I’ll ever quit it. I go long months between reading these books but every time I pick up a book, it’s like no time has passed. I also love that every time I pick up a book, I see familiar faces and are introduced to characters that I want to see more of. Nalini Singh is just that author for me and she wrote another winner with this one.

Yakov and Theo were a couple that worked really well together. Them getting together made sense and the thing with Theo being Yakov’s literal dream girl, the girl that he’s been dreaming about since he was a kid made their dynamic even more interesting to me. I loved how Theo was immediately comfortable with Yakov and how she felt safe with him but even more, I loved how Yakov wanted to protect her, even before they really knew each other. Their story was super heavy but it didn’t feel bogged down and I like that while so much is going on storywise, Singh didn’t let the romance between Yakov and Theo suffer.

I also really liked that Singh writes stories for everyone. Like everyone in this world is not cookie-cutter perfect but they’re still worthy of that redemption arc. I love that guys that did shitty things in the past can come back and we’re able to see the chain of events that led to them doing the shitty thing. I also love that in this story, Theo and Pax’s grandfather is absolutely not a good guy but that didn’t mean that they were tied to the bad things that their grandfather did. I loved seeing them work to make things right, even when those around them do not trust them to do the right things. Hell, even when they themselves don’t trust themselves to do the right thing. I loved seeing them be okay with not being accepted and working to prove their intentions anyway. I think that’s why I’m so interested in getting Pax’s story. His story can’t be an easy one to write, considering everything that he’s dealing with right now but please…I need his story.

In this book, I really enjoyed getting to know Theo and Yakov but I also really liked getting to know Yakov’s family and seeing Theo get in good with them too. I loved the dynamic between Theo and Pax, both as kids but also as adults. Their bond was sweet and their intense faith in each other made me love them all the more. There was so much bad in their lives and so much time spent apart but none of that touched the goodness between them and I just really liked that.

There’s a lot of good in this book, the overall story being told about the Psy Net falling any day now (even though it’s been falling for like the entire length of both this series and the Psy-Changelings series), seeing everyone come together to try to fix things, seeing the love blossom between Theo and Yakov but also the love that’s more cemented in Yakov’s brother and his partner. Seeing Theo deal with the broken memories of her past and trying to save Yakov and his loved ones from the weaknesses in herself that makes her a danger to others and seeing Yakov just flat out refuse to let her deal with everything alone, it all just made the reading adventure all the more great. If you’re a fan of this series then I definitely recommend this book. It’s a great addition to the series but also just a damn good read on its own.

Psy-Changelings Series

Psy-Changeling Trinity Series

4 out of 5

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Review: Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Posted June 12, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Series: Hidden Legacy #5
Also in this Series: Burn for Me, White Hot, Wildfire, Diamond Fire, Sapphire Flames
Main Leads: Catalina Baylor, Alessandro Sagredo
Setting: United States, Texas, Houston
Tropes: Murder Mystery, Childhood Trauma, Second Chance Romance
Genres: Romance, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Published On: August 25, 2020
Publisher: Avon
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 392
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

As Prime magic users, Catalina Baylor and her sisters have extraordinary powers—powers their ruthless grandmother would love to control. Catalina can earn her family some protection working as deputy to the Warden of Texas, overseeing breaches of magic law in the state, but that has risks as well. When House Baylor is under attack and monsters haunt her every step, Catalina is forced to rely on handsome, dangerous Alessandro Sagredo, the Prime who crushed her heart.

The nightmare that Alessandro has fought since childhood has come roaring back to life, but now Catalina is under threat. Not even his lifelong quest for revenge will stop him from keeping her safe, even if every battle could be his last. Because Catalina won’t rest until she stops the use of the illicit, power-granting serum that’s tearing their world apart.

This book starts about six months after the last book, Sapphire Flames, ends. Catalina is busy. She’s running the family business, taking care of Deputy Warden business, and nursing a broken heart from Alessandro leaving. She’s bad, she’s sad, and just a little bit mad. When Felix Morton is murdered, Catalina is assigned to the case. This new case has also brought Alessandro back in town because Felix’s father hired him to kill whoever killed his son. That means that Catalina and Alessandro are back together again and Catalina is not even a little bit happy about that fact.

Seeing these two back in action was a lot of fun even though Alessandro being back in town and his complete turnaround made me make this face…

He wins me over of course but I still had an attitude in the beginning. There’s a lot going on in this story and I won’t lie, seeing Catalina and Alessandro piece things together while Catalina is trying to hold Alessandro at arms length and Alessandro wanting to protect Catalina even though he knows that he completely messed up and trying to protect and love her anyway had me all eager to see their love story come together. In terms of time, this book takes place over the course of a few days so if I stop to think about it, the make up between Alessandro and Catalina happened too quick but let’s not think too closely about that. I still enjoyed this book a lot.

I like that Catalina is a different heroine than Nevada is. I even like the differences between Mad Rogan and Alessandro and even though I like Nevada and Rogan more, I really enjoy reading about Catalina and Alessandro. Their teamwork is a lot of fun and I love how smart the two of them are. They’re fiercely loyal to their loved ones and have their own set of charms that are compelling as hell. I love that Catalina is smart as a whip and has a soft touch to her style.

The case of Felix Morton’s murder gets Catalina and Alessandro entangled in some shit and seeing it open threads and expose some truths made for an interesting ride. The Andrews writing duo is second to none in writing compelling stories with colorful characters that really bring the story together. I loved seeing the Baylors and everyone else and I’m mighty curious about who Arabella will end up with. Andrews does a great job of stringing the character along, keeping them invested in what was going on and that was definitely the case with this book. I love this series so much and am so happy that I can still enjoy it and have things to look forward to. This is a definite recommend.

Hidden Legacy Series

4.5 out of 5

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