Dell Archives - The Litertarian

Book Review:: Some Kind of Famous | Ava Wilder

Sometimes a fluffy kind of silly rom-com is exactly what you need. Sometimes you want to bite into a story with a little bit more angst and real, complicated emotional baggage. That’s what you’re getting with Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder, and it is wonderful.

Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder Book Cover

Some would say Merritt Valentine is washed up. She used to be famous, once upon a time. Then she had a very public breakdown and hasn’t made any music since. She recently moved to the same small town as her sister. That’s where she meets Niko – a Greek god of a handman who is actually from Greece. But with her history and tendency to leave hearts broken and bleeding in her wake, she doesn’t want to get involved. She promises her sister, even, that she won’t make things complicated for them in this oasis of a town. But there’s an undeniable connection there, and every time they get into the same room, chemistry fizzes and sparks.

I love this book. Both lead characters are smart and well-rounded and are trying to do the right thing, whatever that is. Their journey to one another is jumbled and clumsy and start-and-stop. It felt real. It felt honest.

The one part of the story that kind of irked me was Merritt’s sister. I can see where she’s coming from, but she really goes pretty hard at Merritt, not really trying to see both sides of the issue. She could have taken that down several notches and still gotten her point across, but that’s not always how family’s work, is it? It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility in the real world, so I’ll forgive the intensity of that big scene between sisters.

If you’re looking for a great romance novel with characters who will stick with you for awhile after you turn the last page, this one fits that bill! Thank you, Dell, for the opportunity to read this one early!

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:: Some Kind of Famous
Author:: Ava Wilder
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Dell
Length:: 432 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 2m
Audiobook Narrator:: January LaVoy
Published:: October 28th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Overdue | Stephanie Perkins
Never Over | Clare Gilmore
Leave Before I Love You | Max Monroe
We Met Like This | Kasie West

Book Review:: Yours for the Season | Emily Stone

What do you do when your ex-boyfriend invites you to spend the week of Christmas with his family in Scotland? Turns out he told his family you got back together, and you love his family, and he agrees that you can break up with him very loudly and clearly at the end of it, to set things straight once and for all. So Melanie agrees.

Yours for the Season by Emily Stone Book Cover

All the ingredients for a cute holiday romance are there! Fake dating someone you already have a history with makes everything that much more complicated. There are long standing relationships Melanie has with his large family who are there, too, and many of them are going through big life events and are really bonding with her on this trip. The breakup earlier in the year was brutal, but could there still be hope for the two of them?

Maybe my favorite part of this book was how Melanie was accepted by Finn’s family. When a relationship disintegrates, it often has a lot of collateral damage, and in their case, Melanie lost her relationship with his mother and sisters who she always really cared about, being an only child herself.

I have a soft spot for holiday romances. Is this one extra special? Not really. It’s a typical tropey contemporary romance novel with a holiday twist. The romance is satisfying, and the drama is certainly there. The characters each have lessons to learn before they can truly love and trust the other person. And if you’re itching for the holidays, you should definitely add this one to your list!

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:: Yours For the Season
Author:: Emily Stone
Genre:: Holiday Romance
Publisher:: Dell
Length:: 336 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 54m
Audiobook Narrator:: Rebecca Norfolk
Published:: October 7th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Christmas is All Around | Martha Waters
Emergency Contact | Lauren Layne & Anthony Ledonne
Work in Progress | Kat Mackenzie

Book Review:: People Watching | Hannah Bonam-Young

I’ve heard only good things about Hannah Bonam-Young, so I was curious to experience her writing for the first time with People Watching. Now on the other side of it, I can say I get the hype.

People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young Book Cover

This book brings together a retired teacher who has Alzheimer’s disease’s caregiver daughter with one of her former art students who is only back in town for an S.O.S. his brother sent out. They are completely different. Milo is a world traveler and so far has loved widely but never deeply. Prue is a responsible small town girl with no worldly experience, who holds onto the relationships in her life with both hands. I found the union of these two characters lovely and surprising and the bond they forged through their small town adventures together was steamy and genuine and lovely.

All elements of the plot were handled well and adequately tangled and inter-woven, which tells me this author has a great handle on her craft. There were plenty of scenes handled with such tenderness, and the unfolding of the two hearts at play was just so swoony and satisfying.

The spice in this book is quite spicy, and there’s plenty of it, so if you’re sensitive to that, this book is probably not for you.

Personally, I look forward to reading the rest of Hannah Bonam-Young’s novels, and I’ll surely be keeping an eye out for her work in the future.

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:: People Watching
Author:: Hannah Bonam-Young
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Dell
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 21m
Audiobook Narrator:: Victoria Connolly & Brandon Francis
Published:: September 9th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4.5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Book Review:: The Brave and the Reckless | Dilan Dyer

Romance is far from dead in the wild west – or at least the wild west theme park called Bravetown.

The Brave and the Reckless by Dilan Dyer Book Cover

Esra is questioning her life choices when she winds up at Bravetown working with her brother. Expecting something straightforward, she is hired instead to play the lead in the park’s main act — a reenactment of a cowboy heist. The cowboy is played by her brother’s best friend Noah, who is not much fun. Esra and Noah fight like cats and dogs until the sparks sent up by their friction erupt into a blazing passion neither of them expected.

I wish I liked this more. I loved the representation of chronic illness, which is something you don’t find often. Some of the spicy scenes were very hot, and the romantic connection seemed genuine enough. But there was…something…missing. Something about the fabric this story was woven into seemed too thin. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what was missing, but it left me wanting.

One thing it does have going for it is the immaculate title. If you’re looking for a spicy romp this summer, this one will certainly scratch that itch, it just may not be something to write home about.

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:: The Brave and the Reckless: A Bravetown Novel
Author:: Dilan Dyer
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Dell
Length:: 400 pages
Published:: July 29th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3.5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

First-Time Caller | B.K. Borison
The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain | Hannah Brown
Coming in Hot | Josie Juniper

Book Review:: Gloves Off | Stephanie Archer

Fan of sports romance? Stephanie Archer should be on your list! Gloves Off is the fourth book in her Vancouver Storm series. The Fake Out, the second book in this series, is still one of my all-time favorites of the genre. This is the story of Alexei, the enforcer of the Vancouver Storm, and Georgia, one of the team’s doctors.

Alexei’s days left with the team are numbered: he’s aging out and his body is starting to feel it. That means his Canadian citizenship, and his parents’, is at risk. The funding for Georgia’s charity program to rehabilitate young sports players and keep them doing what they love is drying up. She’s got a heavy inheritance coming her way, but to access it, she has to get married. Despite their mutual loathing, Alexei & Georgia agree to help one another the only way possible…get hitched!

There is no question that Stephanie Archer can tell a great story. I loved so much of Alexei & Georgia’s romance, but I really struggle with the marriage of convenience trope, and that’s where my biggest hangup was in this book.

We start off with a couple of quick opening chapters that is a play by play of exactly why each character needs to get married and why their past relationships have sucked, and nothing else. It didn’t feel very authentic – I could see the scaffolding of story structure too opaquely and I found myself rolling my eyes a little bit. I guess there’s nothing wrong with it, and many people would probably tell you that’s better than the alternative, but I found myself craving a little bit more.

Despite the clumsy start, once the plot takes off, Gloves Off was easier to enjoy. Alexei & Georgia did not get off on the wrong foot, and they’d insulted each other just enough to not make either of them want to change that. But when the layers start peeling back, it’s impossible for them not to fall together.

I really love the little oddball things that make you fall deeper in love with the characters. In this case, the friendship bracelets, the bunnies, the obsession with a teenaged tv show…these are the things that I meant when I said I wanted more at the start instead of feeling a little too much wham-bam-thank-you-ma’amed. It is in there, you just have to work for it a little bit!

There’s a little bit of suspension of disbelief necessary here, but if you can get past all that, the love story underneath is really sweet and swoony. Alexei is a big tough grump, and seeing the softer side of a man like him always melts you right into a puddle, amiright?

If you just finished up Liz Tomforde’s Windy City series and are looking for something new to quench your thirst for hot athletes falling in love, give Vancouver Storm a try!

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:: Gloves Off (Vancouver Storm #4)
Author:: Stephanie Archer
Genre:: Sports Romance
Publisher:: Dell
Length:: 464 pages
Published:: June 17th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars