Can’t Get Enough is the third book in her Skyland series, but the first one I’ve ever read, and I’m impressed! I’ve heard lots of great things, and this one certainly did not disappoint.
Hendrix and Maverick meet at a party as two people who can’t entertain the idea of being together, despite their attractions. He’s technically with someone else, and she’s on the brink of a major deal with his significant other that will lead to the career she’s dreamed of for a long time. But he does overhear an emotional conversation between Hendrix and her mother with Alzheimer’s on the phone, and offers to lend a hand. His own grandfather suffered through the same disease. As time passes, Hendrix and Maverick grow closer and closer until neither of them can deny what they’re feeling anymore.
One thing I loved about this book was how realistic it felt. Hard conversations were hard, intimate scenes don’t go off without a hitch, painful things are very painful. The author really puts herself into the shoes of her characters, and you can feel that as you read it.
The story between Hendrix and Maverick isn’t the most straight forward, but it is sexy as hell. Mav is a millionaire, and that man moves money to make things happen. I can admit that can be romantic! I loved how there were some tough decisions to make, and hard circumstances to navigate, but none of it got in the way of the truth of their feelings for one another (no third act breakup!).
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and I’m excited to go back and read the rest of the Skyland series!
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:: Can’t Get Enough (Skyland #3) Author:: Kennedy Ryan Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::448 pages Audio Length::14h 30m Audiobook Narrator:: Wesleigh Siobhan & Jakobi Diem Published:: May 13th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars Spice Rating:: 3
It All Comes Back to You by Melissa Wiesner is going on my top list of all time favorite books. It reminded me of my favorite book of last year, In the Likely Event, by Rebecca Yarros. Gabe and Anna are not just two love interests, their lives are completely intertwined in all the best and most complex ways. This story had me in a vice from the first pages, and it consumed me entirely until I turned the last ones. Even now I can feel this story overtake me when I think of it, which is often.
Gabe and Anna meet when they are assigned as project partners for a college level economics class. Gabe needs it for his major, and sixteen-year-old Anna talked her way into it with her enormous brain. They become unlikely friends during that semester, and their relationship frames the rest of their lives in ways neither of them expected.
Anna would tell you her life is fine, but as the two of them grow closer, Gabe begins to suspect things aren’t as straight-forward as Anna would have him think. Though he knows it will damage her trust in him, Gabe takes steps to give her the helps she needs but does not want.
He saves her.
Anna’s relationship with the Weatherall’s (Gabe’s family) is the balm for our souls. They’re not perfect, but they are close and loving and the exact opposite of Anna’s early life. They welcome her in like one of their own, and give her a soft place to land whenever she needs it.
This story takes place over many years as Anna and Gabe flash in and out of each other’s lives. Their friendship is a pillar in both of their lives, and though their bond is undeniable, they both know it would be a mistake to take it further with Anna’s past continually haunting her.
I am in love with this book. I want to carry it around, nestled close to my chest so I can have it close to me. I’m not ready to let it go. It’s the kind of story that slithers under your skin and sinks deep into your bones. It’s not a book to read for a little escape, or a weekend of entertainment…it is an experience, and one I hope you’ll undertake as well.
Blown. Away.
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:: It All Comes Back To You Author:: Melissa Wiesner Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::336 pages Audio Length::10h 40m Audiobook Narrator:: Kate Handford Published:: March 18th, 2025 (August 17th, 2023) The Litertarian Rating:: 5 (million)-Stars
Love. Why is it so many are in pursuit of a thing that can cause so much pain? Heartache is a real thing, with real, physical, symptoms. Is it ever worth it?
Chryssy has dedicated her life to healing with an eastern, Chinese medicine, approach. She and her auntie’s run a retreat center to help the lovesick heal their broken hearts. She has plenty of experience with them. Her whole family does, in fact, because the women of her family are cursed. Not a one of them has had a successful long-term relationship because one of their ancestors cursed them. She’s come to accept it. So when a celebrity cellist comes along asking to strike up a deal for a publicity-relationship, she doesn’t see any reason not to. When she starts catching feelings though…she’s convinced they’re doomed for heartache all over again.
This book has a lot of really cozy elements. Chryssy essentially makes people cups of custom tea for a living, after all. She listens well to people, hears between the lines what they may need, and prepares for them something to help. Reading about that process was very calming.
The structure was quite good as well: having Vin’s brother be in need of Chryssy’s family’s services was an organic in for the fake dating element. For me, that trope is over-tired, but for this book it didn’t make me roll my eyes, at least. There was enough meat in the plot to keep things interesting.
That being said, I was hoping for a little more steam in the romance. I liked both Vin and Chryssy, and while there were some sweet moments, I was left wanting a little bit more. I was missing the fireworks. The pop and sizzle of real, deep chemistry.
Luckily there was more to this book than just the romance. I really enjoyed learning about Chryssy’s business and her knowledge of Chinese medicine. Her auntie’s added some layered interest to the story. The B-Plot of the family curse didn’t do a lot for me outside of it being the vehicle for Chryssy to do some soul-searching and self-examination of her own beliefs brought on by the curse-myth upheld by her family. I found this novel to be just as much about personal growth as it was about finding love.
I was granted an early listening copy of the title from netgalley and the publisher, and I really enjoyed the audio narration. I recommend it if you’re able to get your hands on it.
Details
Title:: Yin Yang Love Song Author:: Lauren Kung Jessen Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::352 pages Audio Length::11h 3m Audiobook Narrator:: Eunice Wong & Eric Yang Audiobook Publisher:: Forever Published:: January 28th, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Do you believe in life after love? Specifically, once your (ex)husband of more than a decade turns out to be sleeping with someone who pretended to be your friend…the whole time? Or maybe after the woman you’ve been seeing more than two years dumps you after your first couple’s counseling session and starts dating your brother three months later? Meet the two heroes of Yours Truly, the second installment of the Part of Your World series by Abby Jimenez.
Jacob is starting a new job at the hospital as an ER doctor where Briana Ortiz is the frontrunner for the director position. He has high anxiety, especially social anxiety, and he’s not the best with making friends. No one at the new hospital likes him. He’s the odd man out, and Briana is convinced that he’s come for the job she wants. When he stumbles into the supply closet where Briana is sobbing after another ER visit from her brother (who has failing kidneys), something changes between them. In order to apologize for the incident that got them off on the wrong foot, Jacob decides to write her a letter, knowing it will be much easier to communicate clearly that way for him. A new friendship is born. Letters turn into texting which turn into phone calls which turn into a friendship which quickly morphs into a fake dating situation Jacob accidentally created trying to reassure his family he’s fine about his ex and his brother now announcing their engagement!
I have to say, Abby Jimenez is great at crafting characters that fundamentally fit together. It’s no question that Briana and Jacob belong together and will be very happy together forevermore. In this case, Jacob’s family has direct experience not only with medical issues like her brother’s, but specifically a kidney transplant, so he knows intimately how she must be feeling at this difficult time of her life. And her brother grew up with a lot of anxiety, so she knows how much of an effect it has on Jacob’s every.single.day life. He is quiet, but his family is loud and extroverted, like Briana. Vice versa, Briana is extroverted and overtly friendly (if not vengeful), and her brother is more reserved. They’re both doctors. They’re both pet owners and outdoorsy. It doesn’t get more synchronous than that!
Their love story is sweet and convincing and swoon-worthy.
However…
I didn’t like that Jacob was involved with Briana’s brother’s kidney donation. It really gave me the ick early because it felt like this was something that was going to taint whatever chance at a genuine relationship they might develop. There’s no way around how much complication that adds to the situation. It really caused me a lot of stress as I read, thinking it would ruin the book for me if it was used as a point of drama later in the book. (SPOILER:: All said and done, it ended up fine, mostly because she found out immediately what was happening.)
I also started to feel by the end of this book that the author was telling us far too much about how the characters were feeling. She does a great job already of crafting situations that exhibit and justify the complexity and depth of their feelings, so I felt like the constant “I loved this”‘s were unnecessary as often as they were used. Sometimes, supporting character voice? Okay. Constantly? Please give me some credit as a reader that I can figure out what’s going on here.
Also the final complications between the two of them before the H(appliy)E(ver)A(fter) soured things a little bit. All 100% understandable, but still.
Sigh.
All in all, I couldn’t quite give it five stars.
I’m looking forward to reading the third book in this series finally. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Just for the Summer. I’m hoping for a Part of Your World level romance epic, but gosh, that’ll be hard to beat!
Details
Title:: Yours Truly (Part of Your World #2) Author:: Abby Jimenez Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::416 pages Audio Length::11h 23m Audiobook Narrator:: Kyla Garcia, Zachary Webber Audiobook Publisher:: Forever Published:: April 11th, 2023 The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars Spice Rating:: 2
There are good contemporary romance novels, and then there are novels like this one that blow the rest of them out of the water. This is the only Abby Jimenez title I’ve read so far, but it is clear that she is on a level with Emily Henry and Katherine Center (the two queens, as far as I’m concerned).
This book finds Alexis stranded in a tiny town on her way home from a family funeral. There she meets a helpful (and handsome) stranger who helps her, and they spend an unexpected night of bliss together. She’s in the middle of the fallout of a messy breakup at home, and she’s not in a good place to start anything new, especially not with the small town bumpkin she has fireworks with. She is a Montgomery, and an heir to their ultra-posh reputation of medical patrons in her big city hospital. She can’t abandon that. She and Daniel have no future. She knows this, he knows this, but she keeps showing up in town every spare moment she has.
Oh, the well-structured drama! Every single complication in this book is justified and used to the greatest dramatic degree. This book had me gripped from chapter one and it was an emotional roller coaster from there. If you’re looking for a book to really get swept up in, this is the one I would recommend.
I think a part of why it works so well is that Alexis and Daniel are kind of the same. They both have these extensive family histories they are tied to, and though Daniel isn’t as concerned with leaving his behind, Alexis can’t ask him to do it since she knows what it means.
The romance in this book is hot and steamy and sizzling and what’s another word for hot? Sexy. And magnetic. The pull between these two is undeniable and heartbreaking and hopeful and lovely.
Did I mention the audiobook is narrated by another queen – Julia Whelan? Yeah. Just, yeah.
As an aspiring writer myself, this book is awe-inspiring. I can only hope to write a book so immaculately structured myself someday. Incredible, Abby. I can’t wait to read more!
Details
Title:: Part of Your World Author:: Abby Jimenez Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::389 pages Audio Length::10h 5m Audiobook Narrator:: Julia Whelan & Zachary Webber Audiobook Publisher:: Forever Published:: April 19th, 2022 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars Spice Rating:: 3
I looooooooved this book. In Wish I Were Here there is adventure, humor, drama, a heist, heart, community and the smidgiest smidge of magical realism that made it an experience I won’t soon forget.
Catherine has it all. The life she’s dreamed of her entire childhood. A place of her own, every aspect of her life within her control, and she’s about to start the career of her dreams: a tenure track role in the mathematics department of the university. But when she shows up for orientation, she’s told there was a problem with her paperwork. Turns out, none of her forms of ID are valid. She’s not in the system & will lose everything she clings to so desperately for if she can’t get it fixed, and fast. With the help of her disorganized but compassionate doorman with connections all around the city, it’s a race against time to save her job.
Catherine and Luca are a perfect match for a romance novel. She craves organization almost to a point of pathology and that ranks low on Luca’s priority list. His actions shout at her to stay away, but there is something about him that she can’t deny she’s drawn to. He’s an excellent problem solver and Catherine happens to have a lot of problems that need solving at the moment!
Let’s talk about Luca Morelli. Oh my. Dream boat. This guy is Catherine’s nightmare, having so much in common with her literal clown of a father, but folks, he takes the time to dance with old ladies in the lobby, run them on their errands, listen to their stories, shows up every week to family dinners, and goes out of his way to help everyone every time. He’s a tatted-up teddy bear. He’s a keeper.
Kitty Cat (as the real ones call her) has quite the journey to traverse over the course of the novel. She’s got an identity crisis (literally), her father’s lost (another) job, and she learns about her mother for the first time in her 30 years of life, who might just be the answer to unlock everything else.
Not to mention the cast of side characters in this book are all fun, endearing, and incredibly special. The community aspect of this book is truly aspirational.
The romance in this book felt so…pure. It’s completely organic and hopeful and sweet and gah I just loved every bit of it. The personal journey Catherine goes on reminds me of the best Katherine Center books. This one blew me away. I got an arc copy from netgalley and the publisher, but before I was even halfway through I knew I was going to need a copy for myself to keep on my shelves. Absolutely wonderful. What are you waiting for?!
Details
Title:: Wish I Were Here Author:: Melissa Wiesner Genre:: Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::368 pages Audio Length::9h 23m Audiobook Narrator:: Helen Laser Audiobook Publisher:: Forever Published:: October 15th, 2024 The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
