Even though the premise of this book is clear from the title, the cover, and whatever the blurb says (which you all know by now I almost never read) — it still surprised me.
There are ghosts, and ghosts make for excellent adventure, and, turns out, make pretty good matchmakers.
Morgan is haunted by a guy she barely knows and she has no idea why. What is it that is anchoring him to her? He was nice and all, but how does she get rid of him?
Then she meets Sawyer, who has been haunted for years by the love of his life. Together, they decide to help one another. After all, how often do you meet someone who is actively being haunted?
Though the premise is a little silly, and translated to a story that is sometimes silly and fun, it’s also a story of deep grief and loss, and learning to live again. I really appreciated the careful balance of the depth, and I thought the romance was handled really organically, too.
Besides the cover, which makes no sense (why are both of the ghosts there girls?!), I thought it was a really great book, and I recommend it.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: Seeing Other People Author:: Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemung-Broka Genre:: Paranormal Romance Publisher:: Berkley Length::352 pages Audio Length::9h 45m Audiobook Narrator:: Brittany Pressley & Dan Bittner Published:: December 9th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Love makes fools of us all, and we all know nothing is stronger than a mother’s love. Simone and Lucy just wanted to have a nice mother-daughter holiday camping in the west Texas desert.
Note to self: never book a holiday in west Texas.
Lucy is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night, with nothing but an outdated flip phone in her place. When it rings, it’s an unknown caller, and they’ve ransomed her daughter. Simone and Lucy are in a time of transition. Lucy is preparing to go off to college, and Simone is feeling the absence of her more than ever, making the ache of intense love only a mother can understand more tender than ever. Perhaps it is this specific texture of feeling that leads to what happens next.
What would you do, when pressed into a corner, to recover one you love?
Gillian McAllister is so good at what she does. Her thrillers have an atmosphere and a desperation and a logic that propels you through the pages relentlessly. It’s a story about familial love, it’s a story of desperation, it’s a story about having to move without knowing if it’s safe, where it’s safe, or who is safe.
Don’t miss it.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Man, sometimes you gotta go back to a genuine sports romance novel, and If Only You Knew by Ellie K. Wilde really fits the bill (also it’s part of a standalone series so if you like it, there’s more).
Parker and Summer are the ultimate friends to lovers indulgence. They’ve been friends forever, but for their own reasons, have never really considered that they may just be exactly who they’re looking for.
Physical therapist and competitive surfer Summer is sick of dating, starting to think there was nothing but duds out there. Parker has a reputation and has never been one for a serious relationship.
Their story finding their way to one another is full of twists and turns and a little bit of heartbreak, and starts when the agree to help matchmake one another. Who knows them better than their best friend, after all?
Like the rest of the books in this series (and indeed the sports romance genre in general), this book is very spicy. Like, four cayenne peppers spicy. Very explicit! There, you’ve been warned.
Wilde is really good at matching up her heroes and heroines, and their backstories always play into unlocking them to love. It’s such a satisfying feeling for the reader.
So, do I recommend? Absolutely! Grab yourself a copy to bring some sunshine into your winter blues.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: If Only You Knew (Oakwood Bay #3) Author:: Ellie K. Wilde Genre:: Sports Romance Publisher:: Atria Books Length::400 pages Published:: February 17th, 2026 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Last year I read a book called The Christmas Inn by Pamela Kelley and I LOVED it. It was such a nice, engaging, wholesome novel about family and friendship and community. Naturally, I was quite excited to dive into another story by this same author.
The Nantucket Inn centers around another family unit, a mother, three daughters, and a fleeting son, who helps his mother turn their generous Nantucket home into an inn after the death of the family patriarch.
Everyone is going through something a little bit different. There are relationships ending, relationships beginning, relationships on pause…but at the center of everything is the core connection of the family.
I find books like these so cozy and pleasant. There’s plenty of drama, but because of the solid support systems underneath, nothing ever feels desperate, you know? You can read the whole thing without your heart in your throat. A good one to dip in and out of, even.
While I did enjoy The Nantucket Inn, it wasn’t quite as touching to me as The Christmas Inn. If your heart is feeling a little tender, I think Pamela Kelley is a good bet to sink into for a safe escape.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
What do you do when your one-night-stand turns up at your family’s Christmas celebrations at a picturesque Christmas tree farm? Turns out, he’s the proprietor’s brother, so they’re stuck together for a week. The thing is, things didn’t end well after their night of bliss, months ago, and now they’re forced to confront it.
Nick is a hockey star, but she didn’t know that when they slept together. He’s had an off season, benched with an injury that isn’t healing as fast as they used to. He’s in a bit of a personal crisis, and that one-night-stand was atypical behavior for him. But she never got out of his head. Maisie Smart. His dream girl.
Being bundled up close to your family is a stress test that Maisie hates. She’s always felt like a failure to her parents who respect academic and financial success. Maisie is successful in her own way as a photographer, and she’s come to accept that that’ll never be good enough in their eyes, even with the recognition and opportunities she’s gotten.
It doesn’t take long for Maisie and Nick to realize that the spark they had that night are still there, and it doesn’t take long for him to apologize for his behavior afterward (we love a guy who can admit his mistakes).
This is a holiday romance that will keep you reading for the steamy sexual tension, and the sweet and genuine care these characters have for one another. It has that dash of sports romance that seems to come with guys with soft, devoted hearts.
It’s a book with heart, and healing, and the best kind of heart-warming romance.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: You Make It Feel Like Christmas Author:: Sophie Sullivan Genre:: Holiday Sports Romance Publisher:: St. Martin’s Griffin Length::320 pages Audio Length::10h 25m Audiobook Narrator:: Patti Murin Published:: September 23rd, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Jill Jacobs is a scrooge who hasn’t been back to her hometown for years, avoiding a certain someone she was once hopelessly in love with. Things between them ended badly, weirdly, uncomfortably. But when she gets there it’s not only her ex around town – her high school crush is also there, and single. Is this her chance for real happiness?
This book is magical realism. Magic Santa gives her a ghost-of-Christmas-past experience where she gets to explore her hypothesis without any actual real-world consequences.
Jill is in denial about history and the future. She’s in a pretty unhealthy mental space, and she really needed this come-to-Jesus moment of self-realization. We all need that sometimes to get over our own BS.
If you’re a fan of hallmark movies, and corny holiday romances, you’re going to love this.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: Christmas People Author:: Iva-Marie Palmer Genre:: Holiday Romance Publisher:: St. Martin’s Griffin Length::304 pages Audio Length::9h 56m Audiobook Narrator:: Patti Murin Published:: September 30th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
What happens when you’re trying to save your new boss, who is your best friend’s big brother, from being sabotaged at work? Turns out, you accidentally fall in love.
This new internship is mostly a vanity job for Juniper, who is already loaded, but still, she wants to prove herself (unlike her best friend who blows it off almost completely). But this is Beau’s business. He is a rockstar there, and when a competitive bid contest comes in and Juniper catches wind that someone else is keeping too close an eye on Beau and his work on the project, she decides to let him know…anonymously…through the dating app their company is launching.
The secrecy of it is a catalyst. As he tries to guess who it is he’s regularly communicating with, it gets flirty. The tension building is *exquisite*.
What I didn’t like was the backdrop. This is a billionaire romance (or at least, close enough), and these kids are spoiled absolutely rotten. The best friend was a caricature of a flighty bougie nepo baby who literally trots off to her nails done instead of work. A little too gross to just gloss over and really enjoy the book. But others may not mind that as much.
Overall, the romance of this book snaps, crackles, and pops. If you’re in the mood to not get real deep into every aspect of the story and just enjoy THAT? Then absolutely, add this one to your TBR!
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: Meet Me at Midnight (Midnight #1) Author:: Max Monroe Genre:: Workplace Romance Publisher:: Mox Monroe (Indie) Length::354 pages Published:: November 8th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
I get it now, the intense hype for Jessica Joyce. The Ex Vows is an angsty, emotional story about childhood friends who once took a shot at love and missed, coming back together for their best friend’s wedding and finding the embers still burning deep.
Georgia and Eli had a connection ever since they met as kids, which manifested in a tight-knit friend group that never wavered. That is, until they finally recognized deeper feelings one summer at the vineyard, and that changed everything. But they were young, and stupid, and were too good at ignoring their problems until they were too big to handle. Fast forward a few years, and their third wheel best friend Adam has found his person and they’re getting married. It’s not the first time Georgia and Eli will see each other since the breakup, but nine days? It might as well be an eternity. With a wedding that is cursed with the worst possible luck, and Georgia and Eli as the fixers, the two of them are seeing far too much of each other to maintain the careful avoidance they’ve practiced for years. It’s time to finally face the truth.
I should probably only give this book five stars, but this is a case of the prose making it impossible to rate it lower. Jessica Joyce can write, y’all. The way she builds an emotionally wrought scene in the present while pulling backstory and flashbacks in those same moments without losing focus is immaculate. It’s the kind of writing I want to do. So yeah, five stars.
My problem with the story itself I think stems from Georgia’s personality? It’s consistent, at least, but she gives herself so many problems by being a people-pleaser at any cost, especially to herself. She feels like she has to earn her relationships, that if she doesn’t invest in them consistently, smooth out any discomforts that might arise, her friends might realize they don’t need her and she’ll lose them. It’s a deep hurt that stems from her family life, and it’s still a very real part of her daily life.
This book explores a prioritizing friends culture I’ve never experienced. For these folks, friendship is everything. It covers a lot of versions of friendships being tried and tested. It’s something very important to Georgia. Maybe too important? But that’s probably being conflated in my mind with her aptitude as a major pushover.
Aside from that, this story has heaps of swoon-worthy romance. As I mentioned before, she uses just enough of the history between Georgia and Eli to make us burn and yearn for them in the present. I really appreciated that these flawed characters in the end earned their happy ever after.
Read it for the prose, read it for the redemption, read it for learning from clumsy mistakes. Read it for the immersive summer vineyard vibes. Read it because this is the kind of love story that demands a place in your thoughts for a long time after you’re done turning the pages.
Details
Title:: The Ex Vows Author:: Jessica Joyce Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Berkley Length::390 pages Audio Length::11h 10m Audiobook Narrator:: Kyla Garcia Published:: July 16th, 2024 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Welcome to the best sports romance series I’ve read. In the Windy City series, Liz Tomforde has created an irresistable cast of characters you can’t help but love. They’re eclectic, they’re flawed, they’re possessive, quite spicy, and you want to be friends with every last one of them. The first in the series is probably the sassiest and perhaps the most transformational of them all. In my opinion, every book only gets better than the last, and you can’t ask for better than that!
Zanders is the ladiest of ladies men. As in, he’s got numbers for ladies in every city his professional hockey team visits. Multiple ladies. In every town. He’s a player, and he’s not ashamed of it. But when their new flight attendant, Stevie, refuses to take any of his shit, he’s curious, and then obsessed with cracking through her tough shell. Too bad she’s completely unimpressed with professional athletes since her twin brother is one of the biggest NBA stars in the country.
“You following me?”
What do I love about this book? Both of these characters are challenged and go through a lot of big growth. I appreciate that Stevie can be insecure about her body, and I absolutely love that Zanders only has heart eyes for every inch of her. There are bumps and bruises along the way, but they both really get a quick sense of each other and are able to care for one another intuitively from pretty early on. Not only do they grow together, they go through their own personal transformations, too, that pave the way for a healthy relationship.
I love that these books are so long and detailed. Everything feels very connected and weaved together, and not splotchy and clumsily tied together. You really get to spend a lot of time with the characters and their world, so you get a really great payoff in the end when things finally click into place.
Any fan of romance should give this series the good try. I haven’t seen a single person who disliked them yet. There are FIVE books to enjoy (I can’t wait to enjoy the last one after my reread of the rest!), and I cannot wait to see what Liz Tomforde comes up with next! Let’s get it girl!
Details
Title:: Mile High (Windy City #1) Author:: Liz Tomforde Genre:: Sports Romance Publisher:: Indie Length::603 pages Audio Length::16h 48m Audiobook Narrator:: Winston James and Mari Published:: June 4th, 2022 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
This is my second Alice Feeney novel, and it is just as twisty and confusing and unreliable as the last one! If you’re a fan of high stakes puzzles and layers of mystery and suspense, you’re going to love her new release, My Husband’s Wife.
Eden Fox comes home from a run to find a stranger in her house. Her key doesn’t work, and there’s a lookalike there, dressed in her clothes, kissing her husband. It’s impossible, but it’s happening. Even the police don’t believe her, and everything she might have had for proof was left inside the house before her run.
This is the start of one of the most complex webs of confusion, mystery, and deception I’ve ever read. There is twist after twist and no shortage of suspicions, and just when you think you know what happened, everything turns on its head all over again.
This is the kind of book the term ‘page-turner’ was invented for. Though at times it was so shrouded in so many layers that it took awhile for the clarity to sink in, it is very good at what it does, which is satisfy your craving for a compelling story.
I was able to experience the audiobook version of this novel. It is produced to a slightly higher level than a typical book, and overall I really enjoyed all those additions. However, as someone who listens at a faster speed than 1x, the running sound effect was really frantic. For that reason I would recommend reading it on 1x speed.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: My Huband’s Wife Author:: Alice Feeney Genre:: Mystery Thriller Publisher:: Flatiron Books Length::320 pages Audio Length::8h 58m Audiobook Narrator:: Bel Powley, Henry Rowley, and Richard Armitage Published:: January 20th, 2026 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
