It’s another Ali Hazelwood win in my book. Maybe even a new favorite!

When I picked up Ivy Fairbanks’s debut novel, Morbidly Yours, late last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It did not disappoint.

This book surprised the heck out of me.

After reading Love, Theoretically back in 2023 (and loving it, I should add), I thought Ali Hazelwood had crossed my threshold for steam in her books.

You’ve heard of the forbidden love trope. Sometimes it feels a bit tired and overdone, but I’m not sure I’ve ever quite read it like this.

Here’s the deal. I loved this book, but, and it’s a big one, I kind of had to tell myself that I was not reading an Emily Henry title.

Ellie Palmer is quickly becoming one of my favorite rom-com authors. Four Weekends and a Funeral was one of my favorite books last year, and I have a feeling Anywhere With You will be one this year.

This is one of those books that if I share a synopsis, it spoils the whole thing. I’d recommend going in blind, so how to review this book?

This is a short and sweet pick-me-up. I really enjoyed it. It was funny and cute.

Florence and Jude spend summers in Michigan at Harbor Arts Camp. Every year on the last night, the "HAC"ers find someone at the bonfire to hang out with until sunrise.

Lana Lord is famous. She’s been acting in Hollywood on a prominent drama that is produced like and often feels like a soap opera. No one even knows her real name is Meg Bryan. No one knows that she and her best friend, Aimee, had planned to study acting in Ireland but ended up staying in Florida. No one really knows Meg at all.

Ellis and Wren grew up together and had their son, Sam, as teens. A decade later, their marriage fell apart. Now in their 30s, they still can’t keep their minds off each other. A summer road trip to drop Sam at college is an opportunity to see whether forever might still be possible.

When James’s twin brother Johnny dies, she can feel it. It’s not just twintuition; she sees his final view of dappled light through the trees. She feels the bullet wound to the chest. Not too long after she drives from San Francisco, where she’s made her life for the past two decades, back to her hometown of Six Rivers in the mountains of northern California.

Katherine Center always brings the most joy-filled, zippy rom-coms that make me grin and swoon a little. This was no exception. Katie is asked to film a promo video for the US Coast Guard with her work superior's brother, rescue swimmer "Hutch" Hutcheson.

I love it when a book surprises me, not because it had twists and turns I didn't expect (although I'll take that, too), but when I went in without high expectations and they are exceeded. I read Jilly Gagnon's rom-com of 2024, Love You, Mean It, and I had a good time with it, but there were a few parts of it that just didn't work well for me. It was a solid read, but I didn't find myself immediately wanting to read everything by this author.

Blake is a sideline reporter for the NFL. She's graduated from USC and landed her dream job back home for the team she grew up watching with her dad. The problem is, as a female, she's constantly questioned about whether she's there "for the right reasons." Does she even like football? Is she here to distract and flirt with the players?

Xavier is a veterinarian. He’s known for a gruff bedside manner, but he’s also very good at his job. When Samantha comes in with a kitten who has a life-threatening condition, he gives it to her straight; and she serves it right back.

Lillian went to high school with Madison, until Lillian took the fall for Madison’s bad behavior and got expelled. For years they’ve kept in touch through letters, Lillian staying stagnant and not achieving much while Madison soared: prestigious college, married to a senator, etc.

Margot is a famous romance writer, but after several bad experiences with men, she’s started “screaming into her pillow” by writing alternate endings to each of her books in a secret file called Happily Never After.

Elliott is in Omaha for a stem cell transplant. The night before her surgery, her best friend encourages her to get out and live a little. In so doing, she meets Jamie. He’s been stood up on a date and they immediately hit it off. He takes her to the baking lesson he’s booked for the night and they spend hours laughing and talking.

Since her best friend died of cancer six months ago, Lenny has been taking temporary nanny jobs–a weekend here or there because that’s the limit to how long she can “hold it together.”