Dawn's Book Reviews 8/26/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 8/26/25

The Cinnamon Spice Inn by Harper Graham

Maple Falls #1

Rating: 4/5

Spice: 2/5

Plot: 3/5

Primary Genre: Contemporary Romance/Fall

Blurb:

🎃 🍂 🎃 🍂
Love is the sweetest spice of all. A fiery, coffee-loving city girl. A laid-back handyman with irresistible hazel eyes. Is this a recipe for disaster? Find out in this totally cozy and unputdownable enemies-to-lovers romance in the small town of your dreams! Gilmore Girls + spice + everything autumn = 🔥
Self-confessed coffee addict and food writer Madison has convinced herself she belongs in NYC. But then she’s called back to the small town of Maple Falls to save her childhood home, The Cinnamon Spice Inn. She’s NOT looking forward to seeing her ex, Zach—now a sexy bearded handyman who knows exactly how to push her buttons. But she won’t let anything distract her from the inn’s relaunch… right? Zach is frustrated in more ways than one when his latest job brings him face-to-face with the girl who got away. He’s already agreed to renovate her family’s inn and he’s nothing if not a man of his word. But the last thing he wants is to work side-by-side with that stubborn, infuriating—fine, totally gorgeous—red-head. Sparks fly as they prepare for the big Halloween opening. Will Madison save The Cinnamon Spice Inn and have a second chance at love, or will it all go up in flames? Grab your favourite spiced latte and settle in with this steamy romance, packed with small-town charm, scorching chemistry, and the perfect HEA. If you love Laurie Gilmore, Emily Henry, cozy autumn vibes and plenty of spice, this is perfect for you!
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Dawn's Book Reviews 8/14/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 8/14/25

Never Been Witched by Molly Harper

Starfall Point #3

Rating: 5/5

Spice: 1/5

Plot: 5/5

Primary Genre: Paranormal Romance/Witchy Romance

Blurb:

"Amid magical shenanigans...this book might just have you laughing out loud." —Hazel Beck for Witches Get Stuff Done

Shy, sunshiney small-town antiques expert and full-time witch-slash-ghost wrangler catches feelings for the charming, perfectly polished customer in an expensive suit as they work together to renovate his family's historic (and definitely haunted) hotel.

Alice Seastairs is in a precarious position for a witch—isolated from her coven and regretting a lot of her choices. Keeping herself from her sisters is the only way she can protect them from a threat only she knows is coming. While Alice should be searching for the final missing Welling locks and protecting the ghostly residents of Shaddow House, she distracts herself with a job offer from Collin Bancroft. Handsome, surprisingly sweet and filthy rich, Collin needs her expertise to restore his historic Duchess Hotel from the previous owner's ghastly citrus-toned taste. Little does he know, Alice is also the perfect consultant for what to do when you discover a ghost running nightly through the hotel hallways. Spoiler alert: The solution is almost always late night snacking and smooching.

The weight of Alice's secrets only gets worse when her manipulative grandparents threaten to ruin her relationship with Collin. And because her life isn't complicated enough, Collin's delusional ex walks back into his life like she never left. And then there's the minor problem of an ancient magical family trying to take over Shaddow House, using the ghosts within for who-knows-what to further their nefarious agenda. Alice can only avoid her coven for so long before they come looking for her… She could really use a friend—or a house full of family, both living and dead.

Will Alice break from generational toxic patterns and claim the joy that she deserves? A witch doesn't kiss and spell...

USA Today bestselling author Molly Harper's romances are perfect for readers looking for:

witchy magic and ghostly companions
a cozy small-town setting
laugh-out-loud humor and hijinks
a coven full of best friends that are like sisters
light mystery

Dawn's Book Reviews 4/17/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 4/17/25

Name Your Price by Holly James

Rating: 4/5

Spice: .5

Primary Genre: Romantic Comedy

Plot: 4/5

Blurb: Sparks ignite as a pair of broke exes get locked in a house together on a reality show for a chance to win a million dollars, a second-chance romance that perfectly captures the absurd sincerity of made-for-TV love. Olivia Martin and Chuck Walsh have chemistry. Too much chemistry, perhaps. Their every interaction as a couple either lights the house up with sexual tension or burns it down with anger. After one huge, very public fight, they finally break up for good. Or so they think. Someone was filming their dramatic argument in the street and—because Olivia’s parents were Hollywood royalty, and because Chuck’s an actor whose star is on the rise—the video goes viral. When Name Your Price, a reality game show, sees the footage, they invite Olivia and Chuck to shoot a very unusual Live locked in a house together for one month and they will be paid a million dollars. Each. Olivia really needs the money if she's going to keep her beloved grandmother in her nursing home, and Chuck is desperate for any chance to win Olivia back. So the game is on—even as the show tries to pluck every nerve with only one bed, one bathroom, and a set of rules that will lose them money if broken—including no touching. With stakes that have never been higher and their explosive chemistry at a fever pitch, can Chuck and Olivia keep it together (and their hands off each other) for one month? Find out next week on Name Your Price!

Dawn's Book Reviews 3/2/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 3/2/25

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things by Breanne Randall (Sisters of Shadow and Light #1)

Rating: 4/5

Spice: 1/5

Plot: 4/5

Primary Genre: Romantasy/Fantasy Romance

Blurb: A young witch cursed with sacrificing memories to cast spells must decide how much she’s willing to lose to save her town in this thrilling tale of magic, love, and self-discovery—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic. In the small town of Gold Springs, Calliope Petridi and her two sisters carefully guard the secret of their magic and the price they must pay to practice memories. The more powerful the magic, the greater the memory required. Luckily, all Calliope wants to do is forget. Forget the mother who left them without a trace. Forget the cracks in her relationships with her judgmental oldest sister, Thalia, and her distant middle sister, Eurydice. Forget about the very cost of her magic. And most of all, forget the way the love of her life shattered her heart two years ago. But when an ancient evil awakens in their town, the fragile thread that holds the sisters together breaks. As their magic slowly begins to fade, Calliope accidentally binds herself to an annoyingly handsome leader of a rival coven infamous for their ruthless pursuit of power. Battling a sizzling chemistry to a man she can't trust, Calliope needs to confront her sisters and the painful memories of her past, dark family secrets, and ancient magic in order to keep the town and all she loves safe. But will she have anything left of herself?

Dawn's Book Reviews 10/8/24 Dawn's Book Reviews 10/8/24

Monarch by Sophie Lark

Grimstone #2

Rating: 4/5

Spice: 2.5/5

Primary Genre: Romantic suspense

Trigger Warnings: Domestic violence, assault, alcohol use, drug use

Favorite Quote: I’m with you. I love you. I’ll protect you, I’ll take care of you. Carry me with you always and keep me in your heart. Because you are in mine.

Plot 5/5:

Elena is a 90 day fiance who had been desperately looking to leave Ukraine. She has just arrived in Grimstone, Oregon to marry her fiance Lorne. He’s a famous, wealthy thriller author. When they met in Ukraine he seemed like was a sweet, loving father and a kind/nerdy guy. Once she arrives, his behavior begins to change and not in a good way. Lorne is having a castle built for them to live in but there have been multiple construction delays so they are staying at the town’s historic hotel, The Monarch. The owner of the Monarch, Atlas, tries to protect Elena as Lorne get more twisted and vicious.

Dawn's Book Reviews 9/22/24 Dawn's Book Reviews 9/22/24

The Memo by Rachel Dodes, Lauren Mechling

Rating: 3.5/5

Spice: 0

Primary Genre: Women’s Fiction

Trigger Warnings: Emotional abuse, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, abandonment, drug use

Favorite Quote: No matter how hard I pounded the dough, I was never quite able to knead away the sense that I was committed to a guy who would never be fully committed to me.

Dawn's Book Reviews 9/16/24 Dawn's Book Reviews 9/16/24

Cole and Laila Are Just Friends by Bethany Turner

Rating: 3

Spice: 0

Primary Genre: Romance

Trigger Warnings: Mention of terminal illness, abandonment, alchohol/prescription drug use, death of a family member/parent

Favorite Quote: Who knew romantic comedy was such a brutal sport?

Plot 3/5:

Slow burn, friends to lovers, closed door romance. And when I say slow burn, we’re talking the slowest. This story is about a girl and a guy who live in a small town in Colorado, have known each other since they were little kids, and are extremely close best friends.

Dawn 4/30/24 Dawn 4/30/24

Birding With Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb

Celeste is divorced and is on a journey of discovery to find out who she is after losing herself in her marriage. She shows up at a park to meet with a guy who's squaring up with his ex.

Dawn 4/29/24 Dawn 4/29/24

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

This book started out very slow for me, I had a hard time getting into it. The first three chapters felt slower than molasses in January, then of a sudden it's like you're on the freeway and you realize that your brakes don't work. Ok, not that extreme

Dawn 4/18/24 Dawn 4/18/24

Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello

You can never go home again until your life blows up and you have to. Down on her luck comedienne Del lands back in Evergreen, New Jersey after 10 years.

Dawn 3/25/24 Dawn 3/25/24

First Base (Chicago Heartbreakers Book 1) by Ally Wiegand

Maggie is a photographer for the Chicago Cougars MLB team who just acquired a new bad boy player named Tommy from San Diego.

Dawn 3/23/24 Dawn 3/23/24

Loyally Luke by Pepper Basham

Plot: Luke is an American carpenter visiting the foreign country of Skymar to help repair an orphanage. Elliana is a princess of the country who is overseeing the project.