Tag:

found family

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

by Jill May 1, 2025

written by Jill

Book Review:
Shield of Sparrows

devney Perry

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

“I hate you,” I seethed.
“Yes, you do. Don’t forget.”
“Never.”

📝 mini blurb:

Odessa Cross was never meant to be anything more than a princess – not the “chosen” one, and never a queen.

Her sister Mae was trained since birth to be the Sparrow, the one to marry & unite kingdoms.

All of that changes the day the Prince of Turah decided to choose her instead.

✦ tropes & stuff:
🗡 enemies to lovers
✨ magic, monsters & gods
💍 arranged marriage
👑 kingdoms & treaties
❤️‍🔥 slow burn
🐎 only one horse
💖 single 1st person pov

¸.•´*¨`*•✦•*`¨*`•.¸¸.•´*¨`*•✦•*`¨*`•.¸

⭐️: 4.75/5
🌶️: open door to a few scenes

💭 what I loved about this one:

Odessa is super funny, I loved being in her head & loved her energy
“my queen” 😮‍💨
how the world building wasn’t too complex, letting me focus on the story & romance
her relationship with Evie 🥹 (a child, but that’s all I can say 🤐)
so many things I won’t spoil in my review!

🙃 what didn’t quite work for me:

the writing was a bit repetitive at times – I did not need to know at least 10 times what this man smells like
(I won’t spoil) a character’s name change kept confusing me

📖 Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
🗡️: romantasy

Thank you to Devney Perry for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

May 1, 2025 0 comments

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia

by Jill September 26, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
If It Makes You Happy

Julie Olivia

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

have you ever been giddy over a crush?
that’s how this whole book felt to me.
Cliff & Michelle had me kicking my feet and squealing at how cute they were as they got to know each other, and fell in love 🥹

⭐️ rating: ♾
🌶️: open door, slow burn to a few scenes

💭 overall thoughts:
this book was everything I thought it would be, and more.
I’m such a huge Julie Olivia fan, and this definitely did not disappoint!

I took my time with this one – it felt… slow. And I mean that in a very good way. It was the type of story I didn’t want to rush, but savor.
I felt at home with Michelle (& Rocket 🐾), Cliff, the Burkes & all of Copper Run, and didn’t want to leave 🥰

I loved remembering a simpler time, before cell phones and internet & social media. This book feels innocent in that way (but with spice 😉).

read if you love:
🍁 autumn 1997 nostalgia
🏠 neighbours + close proximity
🧁 single dad baker + temporary inn keeper who are total opposites
❤️‍🩹 finding friendship & love after divorce
🌳 small town Stars Hollow energy
📼 90s romcom vibes
🐾 an expressive pup who’s part of the family
💞 dual 1st person pov

Thank you to Julie Olivia & PenPal PR for an advanced copy.
All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy or read on Kindle Unlimited:
AMAZON

September 26, 2024 0 comments

Becka Mack Book Reviews

Fall with Me

by Jill August 1, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Fall with Me

Becka Mack

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Once again Becka Mack checks all the boxes for PERFECTION! 😍

Fall with Me is deeply vulnerable, hilarious and sexy, making you laugh and cry from one sentence to the next.

JAXON and LENNON are EVERYTHING! ✨

⭐️ rating: ♾️
🌶️ spice: 3/5 (many open door scenes, plot > spice)

💭 overall thoughts:
My notes for this one were absolute CHAOS 😅
As I went back through my 117 highlights I fell in love with this book all over again.

Lennon & Jaxon have incredible banter, and have so much more in common than what may be seen at first glance.
Jaxon is such an acts of service boy, and he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it (which makes it all the sweeter).

They are both the sweetest souls, looking for their place in the world, wanting to feel like they belong. The support and love they find with one another is beautiful, and a person to call home.

This honestly read a lot like a single dad romance, Jaxon takes Cat Daddy to the next LEVEL – and the way Lennon also falls in love with Mittens 🥰

We got SO MUCH of the rest of the boys & their ladies, they had me smiling from ear to ear (and they brought on the tears too).

tropes + topics:
1️⃣ one night stand
😡 frenemies to lovers
🏠 roommates with benefits
🏒 pro hockey player
📸 team photographer
🐱 cat daddy
🫶🏼 found family
💞 dual 1st person pov

In case you haven’t heard of this series before, Fall with Me is Book 4 in the series. While this can definitely be read as a standalone (for the main couple), I highly recommend reading them in order to get the full *found family* vibes & understanding of all the side characters.

Thank you to Becka Mack for sending me a surprise an advanced copy!! And to Simon & Schuster Canada for the physical arc. All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

August 1, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

So This is War

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
So This is War

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

I dropped EVERYTHING to read this one the second it hit my kindle – it did NOT disappoint 😍😍

I loved seeing another side to Posey, and seeing him meet his perfect match in Wylie 🥰

We’ve got – age gap, coach’s daughter aka FORBIDDEN big time, boss/assistant, & they become roommates – the tension is 🔥🔥
Agitators fans – you’re gonna LOVE it!

📖 So This is War
📝 Meghan Quinn
🗓️ 06/25/2024
🏒 sports romance
📱 read on kindle (arc)
📚 book 5 • Vancouver Agitators series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
This was HILARIOUS and sweet, and just the perfect *ending* to this series – though I will miss these boys so much! 😭
Ready for OC’s spinoff series 🙃

There were so many things I loved about this book!

First off, the “erotic torture” – I was constantly laughing out loud with how they were with one another.

It reminded me a lot of that episode of Friends (MQ even mentions it) – the “they don’t know we know they know” one.

The group text chat with the ladies of the Agitators made me so happy. I love the boys shenanigans, but their women are flat out AMAZING.

The spice was spicing too – that scene in the s3x club 😮‍💨 iykyk

I hope this isn’t too much of a spoiler but… Wylie LOVES BOLOGNA!
Could anyone BE more perfect for POSEY?! 🥪

“I love bologna sandwiches,” she whispers.
“So do I,” I whisper back.
“That’s how I know we’re meant to be together.”

Aside from the romance, we also get the struggles of a complex father-daughter relationship between Wylie + her dad (Posey’s coach). That was a bit of a struggle to read, the way he thinks about her and treats her for most of the book is heartbreaking (they do work things out, but it feels sort of toxic for a lot of the story).

tropes + topics:
🧡 age gap (22/32)
📋 coach’s daughter
🏒 pro hockey player
🏠 roommates
🖇️ boss/assistant – workplace
🚫 forbidden
🫶🏼 found family
💞 dual 1st person pov

✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren (workplace, intense physical chemistry)

Thank you to Meghan Quinn for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

He’s Not My Type

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
He's Not My Type

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Oh Halsey.. I was waiting for his moment 🥰 I love a broken boy pining & crushing so hard.

This book is hilarious and sweet, and so spicy 🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 thoughts:
This one is probably my fav in the series, but I honestly love them all.
I think they’re best read in order, to really get the found family dynamics + the build up to this story!

📖 story:
We learn in the previous books that for Halsey it was pretty much love at first sight when he meets Blakely, but unfortunately, she has a boyfriend.

Following their breakup and her having an incident in her new apartment, they become roommates at Halsey’s place – this is one of my absolute fav tropes!! I love the forced proximity of living together 🥰

Halsey is still very much grieving the loss of his twin brother, and through friendship, and then more, Blakely helps bring him back to life 🥰

tropes + topics:
🏠 roommates
🙃 opposites attract
🩵 he falls first
🏒 pro hockey player
💼 workplace
🛏️ only one bed
🫶🏼 found family
💕 dual 1st person pov

✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ Always Only You by Chloe Liese (hockey/workplace, roommates, he falls first)

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

Right Man, Right Time

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Right Man, Right Time

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

My goodness this book was so HOT 🔥🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

After kissing a stranger (Silas) at a bar to show her ex she’s *fine,* Ollie + Silas realize they can help each other in more ways than one.

She needs help with her internship (writing about hockey), and he needs a buffer to keep his ex (now working with the team) away from trying to get back together.

But what happens when feelings get in the way?

💭 overall thoughts:
I’m pretty obsessed with this whole series, and I feel like the books get better and better!

MCs:
Silas – I love how he’s totally a relationship guy, and definitely did not deserve how his ex treated him! He’s a sweet broken boy, who struggles to trust again.

Ollie – little spitfire! 10 years younger than Silas & a college student. I love how she goes after what she wants.

📖 story:
I love fake dating, I don’t think this was particularly unique there but 🤷🏻‍♀️ doesn’t bother me!

I feel like this book brought some good old MQ ridiculousness I was missing from the other books!
This one had me in stitches, especially whenever Ollie would tell the story of “how they met” 🤣

tropes + topics:
🩷 age gap
🥸 fake dating
🏒 pro hockey player
🗞️ college student – journalism
🫶🏼 found family
❤️‍🩹 broken mmc
💞 dual 1st person pov

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

Those Three Little Words

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Those Three Little Words

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Ummm I think accidental pregnancy is becoming one of my favorite tropes!
It’s fun, I love how they often end up living together and trying to figure it all out 🥰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
I loved the dynamic between Penny & Eli, how badly he wanted her from the start, and watching them grow + learn more about each other as they navigated bringing a baby into the world 💕

“I know you have more important things to do⁠—”
“Penny, you are the most important thing in my life right now.”

🏒📱 MCs:
Broken boy Eli – we got bits of him in the first book but there was so much more to discover! My heart hurt for the broken boy and his past.

Penny is soooo weird and hilarious, and I absolutely love that! Her pregnancy hormones made that even better 😂 all her rambling, ESPECIALLY in front of her parents, totally had me in stitches 🤣

📖 story:
Accidental pregnancy gets a bad rap, but it’s really just another reason for a forced proximity situation, and bringing out vulnerability.

I love how these two got together, and all the aftermath of that one night.

🤍side characters:
The BOYS! And Winnie! I love how these books can be standalones, but are so much better read as a series 🥰

tropes + topics:
1️⃣ one night stand
🍼 accidental pregnancy
🏒 pro hockey player mmc
📱 team social media manager fmc
🩵 brother’s teammate
🏠 roommates
🔗 forced proximity
🫶🏼 found family
💞 dual 1st person pov

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Jessica Joyce

You, With a View

by Jill January 3, 2024

written by Jill

Blurb:

Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her gram’s past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information – and it goes viral.

Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother’s secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on.

Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There’s just one problem – Paul’s grandson is Noelle’s frustratingly handsome high-school rival Theo.

And Theo has to come, too.

It’s only two weeks. Surely Noelle can survive that long? But with one car between them – and often only one bed – it doesn’t take long for things to heat up…

Source: Goodreads

Book Review:
You, With a View

Jessica Joyce

Series: No

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Spice: 2/5

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

I was so captured by the poetic way Jessica Joyce tells a story. She just has such way with words, that’s so incredibly beautiful.

This book follows Noelle’s story as she reconnects with her late grandmother, by tracking down her secret love from the past.
Paul also happens to be the grandfather of her high school nemesis, Theo, and the 3 head out on a road trip (the honeymoon that never happened), as they go through her letters.

The way Jessica writes, I felt it.
I felt it in my heart and soul, and I was so connected to all of the characters, and their stories.

I highlighted so many parts while reading, some simply because of the way they were written and how she described something simple.

“I stare up at him, the moon shooting silver through his hair, teasing me with how he’ll look years from now.”

This book is so much more than a romance, as it goes through living with grief and finding your path in life.

Tropes + topics
💜 (high school) rivals to lovers
💜 Road trip
💜 Close proximity
💜 Only one bed
💜 Photographer fmc
💜 Tech CFO ? Mmc
💜 Grief & loss
💜 Family & found family
💜 Self discovery
💜 Single POV/first person

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

January 3, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Holly June Smith

Can I Tell You Something?

by Jill November 8, 2023

written by Jill

BLURB:

Hannah Richmond is about to spend Christmas with the man of her dreams.

The man of Hannah’s dreams has no idea she exists.

Hannah
I’ve been desperately looking forward to Christmas in my family’s snowy alpine chalet. Two blissful weeks of skiing, eating, and sneaking off for ‘naps’ to listen to my favourite audio erotica star.

Yes, the man who warms my bed each night may have no idea I exist, but that doesn’t stop me fantasising that his spicy stories and filthy words are for my ears only.

It’s set to be the most relaxing Christmas ever. Until my brother shows up… with an unexpected guest.

Cameron
I’d planned to spend the holidays working. Just me, my microphone, and a lot of new content for subscribers of my audio erotica channel.

When I convinced my best friend to fly home and surprise his family, I never expected he’d take me along for the ride. I didn’t expect to find myself halfway up a mountain. And I definitely didn’t expect to find out his sister is my biggest fan.

Source: Goodreads

Book Review:
Can I Tell You Something?

Holly June Smith

Series: No

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Spice: 4/5

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Add this to your holiday TBR – you won’t be disappointed!!
It’s the perfect little sweet & spicy novella to get you into the Christmas spirit 🥰

📖 Can I Tell You Something?
📝 Holly June Smith
🗓️ 11/09/2023
💜 Holiday Romance Novella
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I read this in just a few hours (would have been one sitting if I didn’t have a toddler) and didn’t want to put it down!

I love a celebrity romance, but the idea of an audio erotica narrator is just brilliant!
Hannah meeting the man she has been *very intimate* with (in her mind) is the ultimate fangirl experience 😍

I loved how the whole story developed – how they first see each other, to their “previous connection,” to spending time together and getting to know one another… just so good.

This book also brings the HEAT 🔥 I mean how could it not with Cameron’s profession?!

Tropes + Topics:
🎙️ Holiday romance
🎙️ Brother’s best friend
🎙️ Audio erotica voice actor
🎙️ Lawyer
🎙️ Forced proximity
🎙️ Family traditions
🎙️ Winter in French alps
🎙️ Novella
🎙️ Dual POV/first person

Thank you so very much to author Holly June Smith for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own!

For more of my Holly June Smith reviews, click HERE.

Note: Edit is mine, photos are not. Photos found on Pinterest. If there are any issues with any of the photos being posted, please email me and let me know at hello@readinginpjsblog.com

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

November 8, 2023 0 comments

Book Reviews Julie Olivia

Off the Hook

by Jill October 27, 2023

written by Jill

I need a nanny, but I may need her more.

I know about my reputation as Never Harbor’s secluded single dad. But I have everything I need: my imaginative son, my dog, and our remodeled cottage by the sea.

That is, until my nanny quits.

My brother’s ex-fiancee, Wendy Darling, is an elementary school teacher with a free summer. The last thing I need is to get tangled in his mess, but my family thinks she’s a perfect fit for the job. Turns out, she fits in better than I could have imagined.

Wendy is nothing like I expected. She’s kind and adventurous, with a beautiful laugh that washes my worst nightmares away. She pushes past my silence and sees more of my true self than anyone has in years. And my six-year-old son is falling for her just as quickly.

Being with Wendy can never happen. Not when my younger brother is her ex-fiance. Not when she’s so close to our family. Not when our small coastal town gossips the way that it does.

But after so long in the dark, Wendy makes me feel something. Falling for her feels a lot like flying instead.

I know happy endings only belong in fairy tales, but I’m close to stealing one for myself.

Source: Goodreads

Book Review:
Off the Hook

Julie Olivia

Series: Yes
Book 1 in Never Harbor

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Spice: 2/5

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

My gosh I just feel so hard and fast for Jasper & Wendy! There was so much I loved about this book, and I didn’t want to stop reading 🥰 I’m so glad it’s just the beginning of a series, because I need so much more!

Wendy needed someone to put her first, as she deserves… Jasper needed someone to love him unconditionally.
This made them the perfect fit.

I love a lot of the tropes in this book, and reading them in a Julie way? Just perfect.

All the Peter Pan references were so fun, and done in a modern way that completely made sense for the book and setting.

Gah I love texting in books! Between Jasper & Wendy, and among the Davies siblings – it was all wonderful. I love how we got to know the siblings, and I’m excited for their books too.

Tropes + topics:
🏴‍☠️ Single Dad & Nanny
🪝 Ex fiancé’s brother
🏴‍☠️ Age gap
🪝Grumpy sunshine
🏴‍☠️ Found family
🪝 Coastal small town
🏴‍☠️ Wendy & Hook inspired
🪝Never Harbor series book 1
🏴‍☠️ Dual POV/first person

Thank you to Good Girls PR & author Julia Olivia for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

For more of my Julie Olivia reviews, click HERE.

Note: Edit is mine, photos are not. Photos found on Pinterest. If there are any issues with any of the photos being posted, please email me and let me know at hello@readinginpjsblog.com

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

October 27, 2023 0 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts

found family

Book Review: Shield of Sparrows

devney Perry

Book Review: If It Makes You Happy

Julie Olivia

Book Review: Fall with Me

Becka Mack

Book Review: So This is War

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: He's Not My Type

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: Right Man, Right Time

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: Those Three Little Words

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: You, With a View

Jessica Joyce

Book Review: Can I Tell You Something?

Holly June Smith

Book Review: Off the Hook

Julie Olivia

Book Review:
Shield of Sparrows

Book Review:
If It Makes You Happy

Book Review:
Fall with Me

Book Review:
So This is War

Book Review:
He's Not My Type

Book Review:
Right Man, Right Time

Book Review:
Those Three Little Words

Book Review:
You, With a View

Book Review:
Can I Tell You Something?

Book Review:
Off the Hook