Allie Reads Romance

UK Release Date: October 19, 2023 US Release Date: TBD Take everything you know and love about Helena Hunting's hockey novels or stand alone rom coms and add vampires. It was fun and funny and sweet and spicy and just a little bit silly, but in the good way. Taking place on a college campus, Hazy is in her last year in her pre-med undergrad program and determined not to make the same boy mistake she makes every year. Enter Godric, He and his brothers have moved into the haunted house on Greek Row, apparently inheriting the old building from their great-uncle. Godric is gorgeous and something about his very being sets off fireworks in Hazy's pants. The insta-lust was so funny and ridiculous and over the top (again, in the best way) that I managed to forget I don't actually enjoy insta-lust stories most of the time. This book felt very much like a rom-com with paranormal elements rather than a paranormal romance, which isn't a bad thing but definitely something to be awar...

Release Date July 10, 2023 Unhinged - An Erotic Door Romance by Vera Valentine. Very much a "What the Fuck Did I Just Read" book but in the very best of ways. The sentient door has a colorful background and the "touch her and die" energy is off the charts. It's sweet and spicy and over in the blink of an eye. 4/5 ⭐ 5/5 🔥

Published October 10, 2023 I’m not usually one for second-chance romances, especially ones where someone messes up big time. In this case, I’ll make an exception. After playing his first season of professional hockey with the Chicago Slayers, Trevor heads back to his hometown. His spot on the Slayers isn’t guaranteed and his life with the Chicago farm team is rocky at best. Everything in his life is uncertain from where he’s going to be playing to where he’ll end up living. He just wants some peace and quiet.  Of course, being a hometown hero hockey star doesn’t lend to much quiet and running into your secret ex-boyfriend, the one you were willing to dump your entire future for, doesn’t leave much room for relaxation. Kelly managed to pack a lot of emotional angst, longing, and spice into such a short novella. You can’t help but root for them, or roll your eyes when Cam insists it’ll be okay because this relationship has a set end date and he couldn’t possibly fall and get hurt (la...

Release Date: October 9, 2023 If you’re looking for a quick and fun hockey romance with some serious spice, Puck Yes is your book. When Ivy’s boyfriend gets a “girlfriend upgrade” for Ivy’s boss, the fashionista finds herself without a job. Taking the chance on herself she decides this is the time to strike out on her own as a fashion influencer. In the meantime, she takes a job “fashion adjacent” as the mascot of the San Francisco Avengers. Things are looking up when the hottie new neighbor offers to be her date to her ex’s wedding (yeah, he’s that terrible) and the Avengers’ team captain is flirting with her. But things get complicated quickly when she agrees to a team dare to marry Hayes (hottie neighbor and newest member of the team) while drunk in Vegas. Especially when it becomes clear that Hayes and Stefan (the team captain and Hayes’ college bestie) are both on board with sharing and Ivy is the center of their focus. Lauren Blakely is great at creating lighthearted books with m...

Publish Date: February 6, 2024 When Grumpy Met Sunshine is perfection. No notes. Would not change a thing. This book had me laughing out loud, crying, squeeing in delight, and everything in between. From the fake dating to the smallest micro-tropes, it felt like this book was written just for me. Mabel is a human cupcake, she’s cute and warm and sweet. She puts people at ease and gets them to open up, which makes her great at her ghostwriting job. So when she’s contracted to tell ex-footballer Alfie Harding, the angriest man in football known to walk out of interviews after being asked the most innocuous questions, she’s shocked to learn the two of them have quite a bit in common. Not the least of all, that they’re both giant weirdos. The narration style is a bit quirky but that’s part of the appeal to the book. It helps propel the book forward and prevents it from ever feel like things are moving too slow. Would I want every book to read like this one? No, but it worked here. Honestly...

  Publication Date: November 14, 2023 Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer meets Nightmare Before Christmas in this adorable monstrous holiday tale. Mothman, feared by everyone around him, faces self-doubt when Santa comes to ask for his help on Christmas Eve. Can this misunderstood cryptid find holiday cheer? The bold and bright artwork pulls Mothman out of the shadows and gives this infamous cryptid a softer side. Both of my kids (F8 & M5) enjoyed reading the story together, finding it silly and fun. We'll definitely be adding this to our holiday reading list.

August 25, 2020 I’m going to do this backward and start with WHAT THE EFF WAS THAT ENDING?! Just, what the eff?! So, if you get nothing else from this review, please take away the fact that this is the first installment in a multi-book series and there is no ending. It’s the cliffiest of cliffhangers. I kind of want to cry. I may have screamed. There might have been some book-throwing. Because WHAT THE EFF HOW DO YOU END IT THERE?! Spoiler alert: I hate cliffhangers. I’m too greedy for the HEA and this is very much a “Kinda happy but also the world as they know it is ending” and just what the eff? Okay, now that that’s over, onto the meat of it. Blood of Zeus is a forbidden, age-gap story between a student and teacher. Both of them are more than they seem, with Kara being a demon with a future set in stone due to her family’s curse and Maximus being something more than human with no knowledge of how or why he can do the things he does. This is the slowest of slow burns with a lot of pi...

Release: October 24, 2023 Kara is stuck in a foreign country when her plane home for the holidays is canceled due to The Storm of the Century bearing down on them. Her employer, Peter, invites her to celebrate with his family. The storm hits shortly after they arrive, trapping her in with Peter and his whole family who decided to bunk together through the storm. Of course, that many people in one house means space is limited and Peter and Kara end up sharing the only empty bedroom in the house. I love the fact that Peter already admitted to having a crush on Kara before any of this goes down. And that he’s clearly spoken to his family about her in the past. He’s a goner. Kara admits an attraction to him but wants to keep things professional. I also love that while Peter is Kara’s employer, it’s not a big hurdle in their relationship. It’s acknowledged but not fixated on as so many books do. This story blends Hanukkah traditions with Christmas cheer and small-town charm. It’s sweet with...