Review - - Paging Dr. Breakup

Paging Dr. Breakup

by Jillian David

Yukon Valley, Alaska - Book 2

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

Widow Deirdre Steen has spent the last five years making sure she’s the best chief nursing officer Yukon Valley Hospital has ever seen. It cost her a personal life—and protected her heart. But now her childhood friend, Dr. Calvin Garrett—the one who got away—is temporarily lending his emergency medicine skills to their rural hospital in Alaska’s interior. The community’s relentless matchmaking network loves a challenge, which leaves Deirdre with one viable option: a fake dating pact with Calvin until the spring Breakup Festival and his inevitable departure to his regular job and his life in Seattle.

Calvin moved away years ago rather than watch his best friend marry Deirdre. Now, amazingly, she’s in Calvin’s bed and the center of his world. Yet a woman like Deirdre deserves forever—as well as a man who didn’t finish as runner-up the first time around.

Can an Alaskan spring thaw help two wounded healers thaw the ice surrounding their hearts and fulfill this second chance at love?

PJ's Thoughts:

Jillian David takes readers back to small-town Alaska with a new story in her Yukon Valley, Alaska series. This time, it's a second-chance romance between Deidre and Calvin, former best friends with some hefty emotional baggage between them.

I really enjoyed this book. Reading it was like taking a trip to Yukon Valley, experiencing all rural Alaska has to offer, and catching up with good friends. The author does an excellent job of staging, within the hospital, in the town, and in the wilderness. 

I love the foundation of friendship between Calvin and Deirdre. Even with the cracks in that foundation formed by their years of separation, it still provides a solid basis on which to build. David explores deeply emotional facets of both characters as they grapple with feelings of desire, guilt, grief, and hope without allowing the story to get too heavy. 

As with book one, the citizens of Yukon Valley play pivotal roles in this second book, especially of the meddling matchmaking type. Well meaning, yes, but also hilariously nosy in their attempts. 

If you like a story that explores second chances with the one who got away, moving forward after a spouse's death and best friends-to-lovers, all wrapped up in a charming small-town romance with humor, a bit of danger, community spirit, fake dating, hospital situations, and a hard-won happy ending, pick up a copy of Paging Dr. Breakup. It's a humorous, heart-tugging, enjoyable read. 

Review & Giveaway - - Take Me to the Wedding

Take Me to the Wedding

by Miranda Liasson

The Amazing Doctors of Oak Bluff - Book 2

Publisher: Hawthorne House

Release Date: May 9, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

How do you know who is the right one for you?

Dr. Samantha Bashar has made a terrible mistake—she let her rocky professional relationship with Dr. Caleb D’Angelo become personal – and accidentally ruined his chances to win back his first true love.

Coming from a proud line of matchmakers, she can’t let that happen, no matter how much she dislikes him. Or the fact that she doesn’t believe in true love for herself. Plus, Caleb is her best friend’s brother. And they’re in the same wedding at the end of the summer – oh, yay.

Dr. Caleb D’Angelo isn’t trying to make enemies…call him a romantic, but he’s just trying to take his chance to see if The One Who Got Away is the right one for him. While avoiding the woman who is T for Trouble at every turn—even though she “feels bad” and is determined to “help him” no matter what he says.

Except the more Samantha helps Caleb, the more his sworn enemy turns into something completely unexpected—she’s funny and kind and very kissable—and Caleb must decide if the One for him isn’t from his past at all—but is the person who’s been right in front of him all along.

PJ's Thoughts:

I love a best friend's brother romance trope. Make them co-workers and adversaries who are the last to realize all that friction between them signals something far different from aggravation simmering beneath the surface and I am well and truly hooked. Liasson uses all of the above in her newest novel, Take Me to the Wedding. 

I am loving this series. Split between the small town of Oak Bluff and the city children's hospital where Sam and Caleb work, this second book in the series is filled with the humor, heartwarming charm, and emotional depth I've come to expect from a Miranda Liasson novel. I love the family dynamics (Caleb's mom is a favorite), the strong friendships, the sweet romance, the snappy banter, and the heart tugs that come from the kids the docs work with at the hospital. It makes me even more invested in these characters.

The ensemble cast adds rich texture to the story, catching readers up with characters from book one and introducing new characters I hope we'll be seeing in future books. I feel like these characters have become friends and I'm eager to see all of them (or at least the ones I like) happily snuggled up with their soulmates. 

You don't have to have read book one, Take Me Home for Christmas (read my review) first in order to enjoy book two though there are crossover characters. I enthusiastically recommend both. 

Have you read any of Miranda Liasson's books?

Do you enjoy medical romances?

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, May 16 will receive a signed print copy of Take Me Home for Christmas.

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, May 16 will receive a signed print copy of Take Me to the Wedding. 

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

 

Review - - After Paris

After Paris

by Mary Ellen Taylor

Publisher: Montlake

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

At twenty-five, Ruby Nevins has already endured more than most. But after two years of battling cancer, she’s warily determined to move forward. Researching a new project about a French actress, she soon uncovers an old diary that will change her life forever…

Cécile, the “it” girl of early 1940s French cinema, vanished from Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942. Sylvia Rousseau, Cécile’s dressmaker and confidante, left that same year. Working to piece together the truth behind Cécile’s disappearance and Sylvia’s extraordinary life, Ruby recognizes the women as kindred spirits. They risked their hearts and lives to aid the Resistance, and each day was a struggle to survive.

Ruby knows her cancer could come back, but she’s learning to embrace the future rather than fear it. If Cécile and Sylvia could live their lives in the shadow of death, so can Ruby. Because she knows there’s so much life―and love―to fight for.

PJ's Thoughts:

Mary Ellen Taylor has written a compelling, thought provoking, dual-timeline story that immersed me into the lives of three remarkable women - two in the past and one in the present. Opening with a harrowing scene in the days following the liberation of France, she then moves to present day, setting the stage for Ruby's story before returning to the past and the unfolding journeys of Cécile and Sylvia before, during, and after the German occupation of Paris. 

The transitions between past and present felt organic and seamless as both stories unfolded. I was equally immersed in both timelines as well as the fates of the characters. Ruby may not have been caught in the life or death consequences Cécile and Sylvia faced at the hands of the Nazis but her life or death battle with cancer was no less consequential. I enjoyed her journey and the twists that awaited her, both personally and in her professional quest to discover the fates of Cécile and Sylvia. I especially enjoyed her unexpected romance (yes, there's a happy ending).

What strength all three of these women exhibited in the face of danger. Taylor doesn't hold back in showing readers all sides of them, especially Cécile and Sylvia. Their courage, vulnerability, morally questionable actions, wants, desires, and fortitude are all important parts of their human story. 

A portion of this book with which I was not familiar was the path taken by the French film industry during WWII. I was not aware of the number of people who were compelled to work with the Germans during that time even though they were against everything the Nazis stood for, how they were forced to straddle two worlds without alienating either side. It's a fascinating part of the book. 

If you enjoy dual timeline stories featuring complex women with the courage to face seemingly insurmountable obstacles, told with strength, compassion, emotional depth, and undying hope, pick up a copy of Mary Ellen Taylor's After Paris. I highly recommend it. 

Winner - - A Summer to Start Over

 

The randomly chosen winner

of a print copy of

A Summer to Start Over by Sera Taino is:

Annette N

Congratulations!

Please send your full name and mailing address to:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Review - - Can't Get Enough

Can't Get Enough

by Kennedy Ryan

Skyland - Book 3

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry's rarefied air. Your vision board? She’s probably living it.

She’s a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions—always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she's facing her toughest challenge yet: caring for an aging parent. Who has time for romance? From her experience, there's a low ROI on relationships. Anyway, she hasn't met the man who can keep up with her. Until...him.

Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer's hottest party, Hendrix feels like she’s met her match. Only he can’t be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired, but he’s the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she’s set for herself.

But when Maverick gives chase—pursuing her, spoiling her, understanding her—is it time to let herself have something more?

PJ's Thoughts:

Kennedy Ryan is a force. While a book written by her is always a reading adventure, it is also an emotional, all-consuming, visceral experience. I don't just read about these complex characters, I live their journeys with them. They fill me with hope, anguish, accomplishment, fear, solid supportive friendship, chosen family, and soul-deep, enduring, hard-won love. 

I'm not overly eager to read billionaire heroes at the moment but I'll make an exception for Maverick. Ryan has crafted a self-made business mogul, ruthless when necessary and not hesitant to go after what he wants but with a tender side as well. I loved the relationship he has with his dad, the gentle care he uses with Hendrix's mother, and, hello, Black surfer? Yes, please. I love that he is not out of touch with his roots and is willing to put himself forward to offer a hand up to others as well as fight injustice. I appreciated the respect between him and Hendrix, as well as the red-hot chemistry and deepening affection. I especially enjoyed how open they were with one another. Open and honest communication and trusting enough to be vulnerable with one another can be very sexy. 

Speaking of vulnerable, Ryan digs deep with strong-willed, motivated, successful businesswoman, Hendrix. I love that she knows who she is - personally, professionally, sexually - and goes after what she wants, that she also gives of herself to help others in her community, and that she refuses to bend to societal pressure by compromising what she knows is best for her. But I also was happy to see her become open to growth and compromise in those personal relationships. Being confronted not only with a heartbreaking family situation (handled by Ryan with great writing skill and emotional care) but also an unexpected romantic one which leads to a messy business one causes Hendrix to step into uncharted waters and make difficult decisions. It's a thought-provoking process of an independent woman weighing the wants and needs of both her head and her heart. I was with her, cheering her on every step of the way. 

Can't Get Enough is the third book in Ryan's Skyland trilogy. While I'm a stickler for reading a series in order and the primary characters from books one and two feature prominently in this third one, readers new to Skyland should be able to fully enjoy Hendrix's story should you decide to read it first. Whatever order you choose, all three books have my highest recommendation. 

Content warning: Alzheimer's

Winner - - Archangel's Ascension

 

The randomly chosen winner

of a print copy of

Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh is:

Ina

Congratulations!

Please send your full name and mailing address to:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Winners - - May Coming Attractions

 

The random winners from the

May Coming Attractions post are:

Patricia B

Mollie W

Congratulations!

Please send your full name and mailing address to:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Review & Giveaway - - A Summer to Start Over

A Summer to Start Over

by Sera Taíno

Finding Love in Soledad Bay - Book 1

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

She needed help…

He needed to begin again.

Single mom Indya Linares has always been Ms. Independent—especially when her family’s hurricane-ravaged resort is at stake. But when Indya’s boat breaks down at sea, she’s forced to accept help from a handsome stranger who immediately makes her heart beat faster. Who would have imagined that he’s also her stubborn mother’s pick for a new facilities manager extraordinaire? After Santiago Pereira left Venezuela to begin again in Soledad Bay, he’s got something to prove to his family…and a mission to bring his daughter back to him. But when Santi just can’t stop thinking about his new boss, will hospitality take on a new meaning for them both?

PJ's Thoughts:

A Summer to Start Over launches Sera Taíno's Finding Love in Soledad Bay series with a Latinx, multi-cultural contemporary romance that kept me entertained from start to finish. 

Taíno knows how to immerse readers in a setting. This time, it's the upper Gulf coast of Florida, in a culturally diverse small town recovering from a hurricane. The breath-stealing sunsets, drool-inducing aromas emanating from Greek, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan kitchens, abundant fishing, fresh Gulf breezes, and Spanish sprinkled throughout give the story authenticity that had me feeling as though I was an actual guest at Indya's family's resort.

I appreciated the layers of both Santi and Indya. These two have some emotional baggage to deal with along with a relationship dynamic that's gender flipped from what I usually see (she's the boss, he's her facilities manager). The complications of their evolving relationship, not only because of past emotional wounds but also with current family dynamics and life obstacles make them seem realistic and relatable. It made me like them and pull for them even more. I also loved the instant chemistry but slow-burn romance between them, especially those boat scenes. ;-)

The supporting cast is vividly depicted, offering up humor, conflict, friendship, support, and a look into issues many immigrants currently face. I'm hoping we'll see more of them, especially Indya's two best friends, in books to come. 

Have you read Sera Taíno yet?

Do you enjoy books that offer views into cultures different from your own?

Have you ever gone deep sea fishing?

One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, May 11 will receive a signed print copy of A Summer to Start Over. 

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

 

Tour Review - - Murder at the Ponte Vecchio

Murder at the Ponte Vecchio

by T.A. Williams

An Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery - Book 11

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Release Date: May 4, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

An iconic bridge... 🌉

Private investigator, Dan Armstrong, lives and works in Florence and knows the world famous Ponte Vecchio well. Usually a magnet for tourists, on this occasion it is the scene of an unexplained death, and Dan finds himself involved in the intriguing case.

An uncompromising man... 😠

Dan quickly discovers that the victim, an elderly jeweller, was every bit as hard as the diamonds he sold in his shop on the bridge. Few people liked him, not even his adult children, and his business dealings look murkier than the waters of the River Arno. Dan suspects more secrets lie hidden…perhaps inside the massive safe in the old man's luxury villa…

A complex case. 💎🔍

As the evidence begins to mount up, so too do the suspects with their different motives. With a fortune in gold bullion and precious stones involved, Dan thinks the only way to catch the killer is to lay a trap, but might he be caught in the killer’s sights? Fortunately, he has Oscar, his canine wingman at his side, always eager to prove that he's as good as gold. 🐶

Can Dan and Oscar sniff out the killer’s tracks or will this case be a bridge too far?

PJ's Thoughts:

I'm a big fan of British cozy mysteries with protagonists of a certain age, quirky villagers, and a twisty (usually murder) mystery to solve. Midsomer Murders marathons have been known to on occasion occupy my entire weekend. That's the same vibe T.A. Williams brings to Murder at the Ponte Vecchio. However, instead of rural England, Dan Armstrong, his British ex-pat P.I. has landed in the culturally, historically, and atmospherically rich Tuscany region in and around Florence, Italy, a setting so vividly depicted it becomes a character in its own right.

I enjoyed the dry British wit of Dan, the joyous enthusiasm of his best canine buddy, Oscar, Italian police officers who may - or may not - be hiding secrets, and an array of intriguingly colorful supporting characters, some of whom bring out unexpected, entertaining facets of Dan's character. The pace is leisurely while also maintaining the strength of the mystery and offering up several possible villains along the way. It took me a while to figure out just who the bad person was.

This is the eleventh book of the Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery series and while there were a few times where I felt like I was missing pieces of Dan's past, I was able to thoroughly enjoy this book without having read the previous ten books. If cozy mysteries are your jam, and you enjoy traveling to new places through the pages of a book, give this one a try. 

Review & Giveaway - - Archangel's Ascension

Archangel’s Ascension

by Nalini Singh

Guild Hunter - Book 17

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Reviewed by Nancy 

 

Aodhan and Illium. Adi and Blue. Sparkle and Bluebell. Friends become lovers, their future a wild unknown.

Finally reunited in New York, they must now learn to navigate the monumental shift in their relationship. But for these two members of Archangel Raphael’s legendary Seven, there is no time to rest. As they investigate a case for the Tower that echoes the darkness from Aodhan’s past, they will be forced to confront not only the scars that mark them both, but the promise of a vast power that flickers in Illium.

The threat of ascension has haunted and troubled Aodhan’s Blue for too long, the forces of change immutable and without mercy…and uncaring of Illium’s fierce wish to remain part of the Seven. Change is a constant in an immortal’s life, and this new horizon will bring with it both terrible heartbreak and a joy extraordinary enough to reverberate through time…

Nancy’s Thoughts:

Archangel’s Ascension is a sequel to Book 14, Archangel’s Light, which took Illium and Aodhan from friends to lovers. Readers can follow the story in Archangel’s Ascension  without having read the prior volume, but I think the emotional arc will have stronger resonance for those who’ve read it.

My one quibble with that earlier book was the absence of a moment when either man hesitated to cross the friend line for fear of losing that irreplaceable friendship. In Archangel’s Ascension, Singh explores both Aodhan’s and Illium’s emotional baggage and its effect on their relationship in a way that addresses everything.

Aodhan is too well aware of his issues, but Illium doesn’t realize the causes of his own unspoken fear. Archangel’s Ascension is a beautiful story of their efforts to work through their baggage so they can relax and trust fully in their love.

The story begins in present time, some 700 years after the end of the last book, Archangel’s Lineage (Book 16). This is labeled Today. A life-altering event occurs near the beginning of the book, which then flashes back to Yesterday, a period about 50 years after the end of Archangel’s Lineage. Much of the story occurs in this earlier period, which looks at Aodhan’s and Illium’s childhood, their relationships with Archangel Rafael, his Seven (the aides he most trusts), and other characters in the series.

Most of the book centers on Aodhan and Illium’s relationship, with the shadow of the Today opening events hovering over this storyline. The pair work together to solve the murder of a young vampire and his female love. This plotline also involves their emotional scars, especially Aodhan’s. It’s well done but not a huge part of the overall story.

The timeline then moves back to Today, to the aftermath of the earlier events and their repercussions. Illium has changed, and everyone around him, including Raphael and Aodhan, must deal with that change in their own ways.

Readers may be able to guess what that change is, but I don’t want to spoil it.

The storyline then moves back and forth between Illium finding his new footing in Today and moments important to his and Aodhan’s relationship in Yesterday. I found the time shifts a little disorienting because I wasn’t sure where we were in the timeline, which parts of Yesterday we were visiting. I suspect this is an issue that will resonate with some readers while others just roll with the shifts.

Each of the familiar supporting characters of the Guild Hunter series gets a nod, even those mortals who, due to the 700-year time jump, are no longer alive in the story world. Singh depicts new characters with enough detail for us to feel that we know them, with emphasis on their importance to the lead characters.

We also see a few major events in the lives of other characters in the series. These interactions aren’t part of the romantic arc and so may feel slow to some readers. Overall, though, the story moves at a good pace. The emotional arc is sometimes intense but always satisfying, and the ending is perfect.

Highly recommended.

~Nancy

 

Readers, tell me what you're currently reading. One randomly chosen person posting a comment before 11:00 PM, May 9 will receive a print copy of Archangel's Ascension.

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

  

Review - - Other People's Summers

Other People's Summers

by Sarah Morgan

Publisher: Canary Street Press

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

In school, Milly Beckett and Nicole Raven were as close as sisters. Now, years later, a gulf separates them, and not just because of the different spheres they inhabit. Nicole is a global superstar with the world at her fingertips, but when scandal breaks, she turns to the only person she trusts.

Fresh from a painful divorce and struggling to balance her work and raising her daughter alone, Milly is tempted to refuse her friend’s plea for help. Nicole wasn’t there for her when she needed her most, and that’s hard to forgive. But Nicole is desperate and Milly agrees to give her the sanctuary she needs.

Against a stunning Lake District backdrop, stilted small talk gradually gives way to soul-deep revelations as the two women slowly find their way back to one another. Living with Milly gives Nicole a glimpse of a different path for herself, and Milly starts to see a life beyond her divorce, including the possibility of a new romance. But Nicole can’t stay hidden forever—and neither can the secret she’s been keeping from Milly, a secret that threatens both her future happiness and the fragile bond between them.

PJ's Thoughts:

My summer reading list would not be complete without a new novel by Sarah Morgan. This talented storyteller never fails to take me on a heart-tugging journey with complex characters and complicated relationships.

One of the relationship types Morgan seems to enjoy exploring - and does so skillfully in this book - is friendship. It's a topic to which most of us can relate. I enjoy how she peels back the layers of the friendship between Milly and Nicole, exposing the nuances of the stretched but not completely broken bond between the two women, revealing the reasons behind their estrangement, and then inviting us along the slow, sometimes painful, but ultimately joyful journey to reconciliation. Sometimes, it's those personal potholes in life that, once repaired, forge a stronger, more durable future. It's a story facet that Morgan crafts exceptionally well.

The secondary cast surrounding Milly and Nicole provide texture that only enrichens the overall story. Milly's grandmother (who has some of the best - and funniest - lines in the book), along with her mother (who has her own personal journey), and her daughter are well developed and intriguing characters in their own right. Two men (I love them both) offer respect, understanding, and hopeful possibilities to Milly and Nicole. Even Milly's ex has a realistic redemption (she's still better off without him). 

If you're looking for a hopeful and heartfelt story about two women, the ties that bind them, the secrets that have kept them apart, and the summer that brings them back together, pick up a copy of Sarah Morgan's Other People's Summers. I highly recommend it.