5 Romance Novels To Cozy Up With

If I must be indoors, I feel like I need to just make the most of it. Have a bit of hygge and lean into the cozy if you will. One of my favorite things is to read books that I just know will make me happy and will make me swoon. FYI, my favorite books for that feeling are romance novels – regardless of subgenre. Below are five romance novels that I promise you are worth curling up in a big comfy chair with for the long haul.

I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A daring deception…

Desperate to escape her vile fiancé, Lady Clara devises a bold lie—that she’s pregnant with another man’s child. With her reputation in tatters, Clara flees to Scotland to live out her days in disgrace, resigned to her fate as a spinster…until she claps eyes on the powerful and wickedly handsome Laird Hunt MacLarin.

She’s the answer to his curse…

Laird of an ancient clan, Hunt needs an heir, but he comes from a long line of men cursed to die before the birth of their firstborn. When the Duke of Autenberry approaches him with a proposition—marry my ruined sister—it seems the perfect solution. Even better, the defiant lass stirs him to his very soul.

No escaping the truth...

Except marriage cannot set them free. No matter how much Hunt desires her. No matter how much Clara burns for him. Soon she is falling for her husband, but is love enough to end the curse? Or is the tragic history of the MacLarin Clan doomed to repeat itself?

This Scot Of Mine by Sophie Jordan is the fourth in her Rogue Files series – which I’ve enjoyed reading both print and audiobook depending on my mood. I decided to go for the audiobook as I knew I’d get to it faster, plus I wanted something that would be a light easy listen.

Jordan’s This Scot Of Mine features Clara, who is the daughter of the main character in The Scandal Of It All. So, it is nice to see her get her own story. Anyways, to avoid having to marry a guy who is no good, Clara fakes a pregnancy and runs away to Scotland where she meets Laird Hunt MacLarin. Hunt, FYI, is cursed to die before the birth of his firstborn. He’s made the offer by the Duke of Autenberry to marry Clara because she’s ruined. Hunt thinks that’s the answer to the curse, because the baby isn’t his. Of course, you all know how the trope plays out. For me, it was an enjoyable listen even though I knew the path it would take.

Carmen Rose narrates This Scot Of Mine. It clocks in at 7 hours and 17 minutes. I listened to it a little bit sped up, in basically two days. And yes, I did really like my time listening to this book and would recommend for sure.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory is third in her Wedding Date series and features Alexa’s best friends Maddie and Theo. Friends, I love love love this series. If I had to push a romance series for people who are maybe a little bit hesitant to try out romance, this would be the series I would press into their hands. Basically everything about this series is compelling to me.

So, this book has one of my favorite tropes: HATE TO LOVE. I will always always always read a hate to love book. So, anyways, Maddie is a personal stylist. Theo works for the mayor’s office with Alexa. Maddie thinks Theo is a bit pompous and arrogant and condescending. Theo thinks Maddie is a party girl. The two, however, are thrown together as part of Alexa’s wedding party. They end up sleeping together and the sparks are there. So, it becomes an impermanent arrangement that they’ll sleep together until all of the wedding stuff is over. As luck would have it, they have a lot in common. And unfortunately/fortunately Alexa’s wedding gets pushed up faster than expected and something has got to give.

I love this book! It’s charming and refreshing. Maddie and Theo are excellent well rounded characters. I liked seeing Alexa and Drew again. I even liked the cameo from Carlos and Nick. At this point, I am obsessed. The audiobook is a good listen too. I physically read the first two books, but I also have nothing but good things to say about the audiobook version of The Wedding Party narrated by Janina Edwards. It’s nine hours and fifteen minutes long and perfect for long drives.

I seriously waited way too long to read Truly by Ruthie Knox. After a round of books that were okay, some good, but none that made me really feel anything deeply, Truly just begged for me to read it. I am so glad that I finally got to this book which was just languishing on my Netgalley queue, because it is excellent. If you like contemporary romance, you absolutely need to read this book.

Truly follows main characters May and Ben – both Wisconsin born and raised – who happen to now live in New York City. May is having a terrible go of it — she dumped her Jets quarterback boyfriend Dan in a way that went viral. After leaving his apartment and attempting to go home, her purse ends up getting stolen – which had her wallet, ID, and phone. So, May goes to the local Packers bar – Pulvermachers – in hopes of finding a person who would be sympathetic to her plight.

Enter Ben. Ben is currently a beekeeper who is super gruff and holding onto a lot of anger and bitterness. Somehow though May wiggles through his defenses and he ends up letting her stay with him for a little bit. The two get to know each other at their most honest – without pretension or falseness. Plus, Ben who is an excellent chef makes all this delicious food for May.

What we get is this spectacular romance with actual chemistry. The adult scenes are actually well written and not anything where I felt awkward to read. I found myself rooting for Ben and May to truly make it. They’re easy to relate to in different ways – Ben’s anger and May’s conforming to other people’s expectations of her. I found myself so excited to read this book every time I had a little bit of downtime and just hope this streak of enjoying what I’m digging into continues. I will definitely be reading the other two books in Knox’s New York trilogy.

I love books that leave you with a happy sigh and a little bit of a hangover. The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez is the type of book you pick up for a dose of happiness in a time of uncertainty. I cannot recommend this contemporary romance highly enough.

The Happy Ever After Playlist is a companion novel to The Friend Zone and features Sloan, Kristen’s best friend. Sloan is driving when a dog happens to jump through her sunroof. He has a tag with his name, Tucker, and the phone number of his owner Jason. Sloan keeps calling Jason, but gets no answer, so she decides to steal Tucker. Eventually though, Jason responds and well, a flirtation between Sloan and him develops. Jason is a musician who is about to blow up. Can it work out between Sloan and Jason?

I inhaled The Happy Ever After Playlist. Sloan’s growth and her leaving the in between place she was living in was so captivating to me. This book is serious but sweet – and I loved that it shines a spotlight on just how much grief can impact your life. I also loved Jason’s family – they live in Ely, Minnesota and his parents are clearly in love. Jason also had his moments of wonderful – although there were times where I was like come on, just communicate.

Jimenez’s second book proves to me lightening does strike twice. It’s just as fantastic as The Friend Zone - blending laughs and tears. This book left me in my feelings in the best kind of way. Get your hands on it as soon as it comes out, I promise you that if you are similar to me in taste, you absolutely will not regret your time reading.

I have recently learned that Spotify has audiobooks and what better way to get through the books on my shelf than listening to the audiobook version through a service I already pay for. Well, it turns out there IS a better way, but I digress. Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday is the first Jenny Holiday book I’ve read but absolutely won’t be the last.

First, Mermaid Inn is the first book in Holiday’s new Matchmaker Bay series – so a good starting point for a new to me author. Second, this book follows a librarian and is a second chance romance. Third, it’s really an easy to follow read for these pandemic times we are currently in and after this is all over, future stressful times. I enjoyed the simplicity it brought me — I love when audiobooks and stories are easy to follow – particularly when I am stressed or busy.

Mermaid Inn is about Evie Abbott, a librarian who inherits the Mermaid Inn and returns to the tiny town it is in. It is also about Sawyer Collins who is the police chief of the small town and raising his younger sister who is now a high school senior. Sawyer and Evie have a past that absolutely ended on a sour note. Of course, they reunite and it is funny and my goodness the text messages. Holiday does not shy from the adult times, nor does she make it awkward.

I really enjoyed this book. I’ll be honest and say I probably would have enjoyed it more had I been able to speed up the narration. I started getting antsy. That’s nothing on Meghan Kelly, the narrator. It’s just 9 hours and 45 minutes feels like such a long time when you can’t speed up to 1.25 or 1.5, which is not a possibility that I know how to do when listening to an audiobook via Spotify. Kelly does a great Canadian accent and a good job inhabiting all the characters. I just would have liked a little small subtle boost in speed, that’s all. Recommended via Spotify audio to people who listen at 1x speed. Recommended via book form or some other app to everyone else.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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