stephsbooktalk's reviews
772 reviews

Thank you so much to Berkley romance for the free book! #Partner
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book will be out on Dec 3rd.

Lana Ferguson has become one of my favorite romance authors and I knew after reading The Nanny that she would be an autobuy author. But sadly I feel like I am still chasing the high that I got while reading The Nanny. And listen there is nothing completely wrong with the books that she has written including this one but it just isn't hitting me the same way as that one did. 

One thing I do love about Ferguson is that she doesn't play with the same type of contemporary romance. She likes to change up the type of books she writes (paranormal, monster, hockey). So when she announced that she was going to be releasing a Loch Ness monster romance, I was in! Also this cover was so geniusly done! 

Key and Lachlan did not get off to a good start in the beginning. And as Ferguson does best - the tension between the two is so strong!  I am not the biggest fan of romances that deals with solving riddles/mysteries but this is one of the few exceptions. Key and Lachlan work together to help solve Lachlan's family curse. They learn a lot about each families and Key even learns some surprising things about herself too! 

Throughout the book Key is trying to honor her father who had recently passed and connect with his parents. Her grandmother was not very welcoming and wanted nothing to do with Key which I cannot imagine being Key in that position. Granted she did show up unannounced but still! Her grandfather was one of my favorite characters and often the voice of reason. 

If you are a fan of duet narration, give this one a listen! Samantha Summers and Flint Park knock it out of the park as Key & Lachlan. Flint Park is a new narrator and whewww the Scottish accent was perfection and added so much to the story. I could see him being used in future books. 

Overall I liked this one! I recommend this if you love a little mystery mixed with your romance, dysfunctional family and a sucker for a Scottish setting - give this one a try! 

Mini Audiobook Review:  I believe this is the last book in the Maple Hills trilogy and you know what I really enjoyed it! I really loved both the FMC and MMC and how their relationship grew from friends to lovers throughout the book. I also felt it was very of age to not label their relationship? They were devoted to one another. I also loved how the author made a note in the beginning of the book sharing that she decided to not give Henry a label as there are plenty of adults who are similar to him without any sort of diagnosis. It felt believable and Halle didn't treat him any different. Instead of pushing for him to get treatment of some sort, she just helped him when she could and made life easier for him.

I thought the audiobook was well done and I really enjoyed Henry's narrator, Emmanuel Ingram. I thought his tone and the way he carried Henry throughout the book was just well done. CJ Bloom also was great as Halle. CJ's voice always has a youthful tone but when she needed to show her frustrations (with her family) she was able to bring that out.

I thought overall the book was super cute and such an easy quick listen! Of course lots of flirting and spice! I wouldn't say it's super spicy but had its share. I think if you enjoyed reading Hannah's other two books, you will enjoy this one! We do get appearances by our stars of the other books in this.

Thank you so much to the author Jo Segura for gifting me an advance copy of the physical book!
Thank you also to Berkley Romance for the advance ebook!

This book will be out January 7th.

"I think someone's jealous"
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because I'd be jealous if someone else was kissing you, too."

Raiders of the Lost Heart was Jo Segura's debut that came out last December and I really enjoyed that one! So I was excited to learn that we were going to be getting a new one in this same universe. This is a stand alone book but there are characters mentioned from the first book but I think Segura did a well enough job explaining the characters and their dynamics should you want to jump right into this one. But one thing that is in common between the two books: strong female characters in a male dominated world.

Now my memory of the MMC in Raiders is very foggy so I am hoping I am correct in saying that Rafael/Rafa was way more swoonier than Ford. The chemistry between him and Miri was strong from the very beginning. Their banter was so good but especially good when they first met. Their paths end up crossing when they ended up working on the same expedition.


"I haven't done anything remarkable. I'm about as boring as they come."
"Pringles, you're anything but boring."

My heart went out to Miri because all she wanted was to be taken seriously. She wanted to prove to everyone especially to her mentor Corrie (from the first book) that she could handle being the team lead. She had so much riding on this expedition and no one knew but her that her job was at risk if it did not succeed.

Rafael on the other hand was feeling the familial pressure from his father to make sure Miri did not succeed in the expedition. And boy do they have some set backs! Rafa's mother is from the area where they are exploring and he is hoping to be able to connect with those who might have knew her. He is hoping this is his last big mission with his employer as he wants to pursue writing novels full time. There's a pretty big reveal that happens that shakes both Miri and Rafa to the core but more so Rafa.

This book has action, family drama, spicy scenes and just such a good time!

PS - Once again this cover art is GORGEOUS!!!!

Mini Audiobook Review: A friend of mine recently read this and raved over it so naturally I needed to read it too. Except I don't think it hit me quite the same way. I love the concept and the main characters but I felt like there was too many side characters for me to keep track of. Coming off of just  finishing The Love Elixir which yes I know there were many characters in that one, but it just felt different. I think it was more the past that would trip me up. 

When I met the author, she did mention that this has been her most researched book which surprised me especially knowing she wrote a book about WWII. 

The story itself was enjoyable. I love the idea of matchmaker (blame countless hours of watching Millionaire Matchmaker) and even more so when it's generational. This book has really good reviews and I wish I felt the same way about it. Please review other reviews to make your decision on reading this. Perhaps I just listened to it at a bad time. I know I was rushing through because I was trying to finish before I met her. 

This is my first Max Monroe book and it will most certainly not be my last!! I was sucked into this book and their writing from the very beginning. I have to admit I initially was drawn to this book for the gorgeous colors on the cover and then I couldn't stop singing Taylor Swift's "Lavender Haze". But honestly the way the title is used in the book was *chef's kiss*.

"You don't need makeup to beautiful, Juni. You know that."

Juniper has been obsessed with her best friend's brother Beau since they were kids. Her friend's family were a second family to her when her home life wasn't the best and a la the crush began. And now that she was working for her best friend's family business, she was going to be seeing lots of Beau.

Now I wasn't always in agreement with how Juniper went about getting close to Beau BUT I totally get why and it worked! Banks & McKenzie Marketing is taking on a new dating app where you can talk to people anonymously as long as they are in a chat with a unique code. It started off innocently and out of concern for a friendly competition between Beau and his co worker Seth (former best friend who is now engaged to his fiancee). I love how their relationship just was building through this app and Beau had no clue who was on the other end. Oh and Beau happened to move into the same apartment building as Juniper (and Avery) and his bedroom was next to hers!

The two of them together in the intimacy of their rooms and then once they were having clandestine meetups. WHEWWWW Bravo to the author for the spicy bits!

The only thorn in this book (and yes I understand it was done purposely) was Avery. Lord, she made me want to scream through a good chunk of this book. I understand why we had her as a side character and honestly I think giving this a duology treatment so she could redeem herself would be amazing. *cough* Henry *cough* I think we needed her to see how mature and level headed Juniper was. Juniper loves Avery for who she is and that is a true best friend. And I love that in the end she realized her brother and Juniper were truly in love.

I just love this book so much! I just kept wanting to keep going. And I love the format! We got a chunk of Juniper's point of view before it switched to Beau for a bit and then it would go back and forth. If you love best friend brothers books that is also a workplace romance - highly recommend!

PS - If you are looking for a book to get your attention from the start, this is the opening line - "I've dreamed about the day Beau Banks would notice my pussy."

Thank you so much to the author Mary Warren for the complimentary copy of this eARC!

This book is out on Nov 25th, 2024

You all are probably getting tired of me raving over Mary's books but guess what - I WON'T! This is the 3rd book in the Glendale Magic series and maybe is now my new favorite? It is hard to compete against my loves Sasha and Conner. As much as I did enjoy reading Evie and Cash's story, I wasn't a huge fan of Evie. But with this one, I love Alice!!

"Baby, you should never be ashamed of any part of yourself...I like all your parts."

Thank you Mary for starting this book off strong with one of my favorite tropes - forced proximity! The book starts off with a flashback of them meeting at the hockey team's charity gala. Sparks are instant between them but he could reject her, she left. Months later by pure chance, Taylor and Alice end up snowed in at Alice's family cabin and well after a few days the chemistry was off the roof!

I just love how Mary wrote these characters and in the author's note in the beginning she explains the inspiration behind the characters. And she advised that Alice & Taylor have a little of her and her husband woven into them. I think it is super important because other readers are looking for themselves represented and this could be the book where they see themselves.

Alice and Taylor were so great inside their bubble but once they were back in the "real world" they needed to navigate how that would look. And it was a little rough in the beginning but once they communicated with one another it was so much smoother!

One of my favorite moments (sorry it's a long one) comes from Alice and it really just sums up beautiful her insecurities that was scattered throughout the book. I really resonated on Alice on a few levels especially as someone who feels like they might have a touch of ADHD (which is a form of neurodivergence) and so I really could relate to the below:

"All three of the women examined the necklace. It was viberant, multicolored star pendant she'd made with small crystals and resin. It felt good because this was her own piece. And it was a splash of the color she craved. But she'd been told her whole life her outfits were too loud, she was too loud, her body was too much, her entire existence was too much. Which was so disorienting - because how could she be too much and feel so invisible at the same time?"

Overall I just could not stop reading this! This only took me two days to read but I probably could've knocked it down to a day if life hadn't gotten in the way. Alice had such a full development from start to finish especially when it came time to dealing with her mother and sister. I wish we got to see more of Taylor with his family but I understand space constraints. I love how Taylor kept on encouraging Alice to be her true self. When she wavered for a moment, Taylor did not know how to react to the change. He just loved her so much for who she was and she eventually does stop questioning it.

You could read this book as a stand alone but I recommend reading in order starting with Reclaiming Kate.

Check this book out if you love forced proximity, boy obsessed, (looking for) neurodiverse characters and of course hockey!

Mini Audiobook Review : Can I tell you how much it pains for me to rate this book not a 4 or better?! This book had SO much hype and I was expecting it to deliver and honestly it was just okay. 

I think my biggest issue and its something so silly but I could not figure out for the life of me how old the characters were?! Perhaps if I had a baseline for that, I would have justified some of the actions taken by the characters.  I normally never have an issue with characters connection/chemistry but for this one, I just didn't feel it. And if you know me, you know I don't mind insta love but this one just didn't click.  I know people are saying this is steamy but I didn't think it was overly steamy compared to other romances I have read. 

I will say it definitely gave off the cozy romance feeling and made me want a iced pumpkin maple coffee before they go out of season. 

The audiobook narrator was pretty good. Regina Reagan made the listening of the book easy going. And now that reflect back perhaps her voice is what made me feel that the characters were on the older side. The audiobook itself is a quick listen coming in just a little over 7 hours. 

I may check out the next book in the series to see if maybe it was just Pumpkin Spice that wasn't my cup of tea. 

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Gallery Book for gifting me the physical copy of the book! 

This is my first Nick Cutter book and I knew he was a horror writer so I was expecting to be blown away by this book. But instead I was left utterly confused. When I understood I was good but then it just got so out of sort? There were two point of view and I felt I was understanding Margaret and what was happening but then there was another point of view that I just never understood who that was? 

Perhaps if I read along with the text I would have understood it better but gathering from other reviews it might not have been completely me? It just felt clunky and disjointed and a lot of things were happening especially for something that was taking place in one day. 

I am sad to have rated this book so low and probably should have DNF but I was really hoping for something to click with me. 

PS - I already hate bugs and insects and this didn't make me enjoy them more. 

Mini Audiobook Review: I have been wanting to read Kate Quinn for so long but I do not think this was the one I should have started out with.

"Women have to plan out every moment of their lives, from wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday all the way through to rest on Sunday. So why aren't we allowed to plan this? Something that derails our whole lives, all other plans..." [for context 'this' meaning pregnancy and going on birth control]

It makes me hesitant to read her other books because I am not sure if the others are in similar format. The book is broken up into very long sections for different characters of those who live in this apartment complex and who are apart of the Briar Club. There were also a lot of characters to remember. I wish I had started keeping track of who was who early on. I did have the physical book but due to my procrastinating I only could do the audio.

My favorite characters to read/listen about were Claire & Fliss. Claire's chapter especially held my attention from start to finish. And with Fliss, the way she was written you could tell she was just a burned out mom who just wanted to relax. I am not a parent but I couldn't help but feel her struggle as a woman trying to be everything and all at once.

I think what would have helped me is if we had different narrators for each of the characters. This was nothing against the narrator Saskia Maarleveld. I just felt bad that she had to take on all the characters herself and did her best to make them their own.

If you are interested in reading this, you can take in my thoughts but I would also explore other reviews to decide if this one is for you.

This book became a surprise gem of a read! I had all intentions of reading with the text but once I started I found it hard to stop listening. I honestly thought this was going to be a fantasy lite read (which is why I wanted to read with the book) and that made me apprehensive to read it. But when I learned that this author was coming to a local library, I thought let me give this a try so I could have it read before the event.

This book did have a little magic in it but nothing over the top nor has world building. The magic is simply in the conconotions and couple little phrases that Augusta's aunt uses when she helps the locals "fix" issues. And in true Stephanie fashion, I did not read the synposis and was basing my judgment off the cover and title, so if you were worried like me, fear not! I also felt comfortable reading this after seeing several bookstagram user post wonderful reviews about it!

"You can't give up something that brings you joy just because it is difficult. Or because there might be a risk. I know how much you love swimming Augusta. You must promise me that you will never stop. There will always be waves in the distance. With practice, you'll learn to swim around them."

This book is told from two timelines - the past & the present. The past was so helpful to establish the relationships of the present. One thing that I LOVED about this book is that the main characters of this book are in their 80s and that it took place in the 80s! How often do you come across second chance romances starring those late in life?! As much as I would have loved to have seen more of Augusta and Irving "dating" I do not know how that would have looked in the present time. Or maybe could have seen them more together in the past? But that is the romance fan in me.

I loved all the characters and who knew the drama that could happen at a senior living center! And now I want more books that take places in these facility. I thought the narrator Gabra Zackman, did a great job with the different voices between the past and present.

I just really enjoyed this book and it will stick with me for quite some time! I am excited to read more from the author and to hear the story behind the story when I meet her.

I highly recommend if you are looking for a feel good historical fiction with a touch of magical realism and a dash of romance.