Dawn's Book Reviews 9/7/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 9/7/25

The Goode Girls of Maple Lane by Jacqueline Firkins

Publish date: September 16, 2025

Rating: 5/5

Spice: 1.5/5

Plot: 5/5

Primary Genre: YA Sapphic Fantasy Romance

Blurb:

🐕🐕

A struggling vet student and a rescue golden retriever save each other in this heartwarming, Fall-themed rom-com about second chances, found family, and the wholesome side of the internet.

Cameron Goode is on the verge of giving up her dream of becoming a vet. Buried under debt and juggling two jobs with a full course load, she’s utterly overwhelmed. Then a local rescue organization reaches out about a neglected golden retriever in desperate need of help.

The last thing Cameron needs is another responsibility. But something inside her shifts when she looks into the eyes of the dog, who is so obese that she can barely move. Cameron is Aggie’s last chance. And she’s not going to let her go.

Cameron brings Aggie home, where the promise of Autumn is in the air. As the leaves begin to change, so do both Cameron and her rescue, whose recovery she chronicles on a TikTok account. Aggie’s resilience inspires Cameron to open up to the neighbors in her building, including Everett, the guy next door who dropped everything to help Cameron save Aggie. He also happens to look really good in sweaters.

When the account goes viral, Cameron finds herself faced with a choice between monetizing the best thing in her life or struggling to make rent and care for Aggie. Will Cameron be able to accept the help of a newfound family, including the first guy she’s fully given her heart to?

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!
🎃 🍂 🎃 🍂

Dawn's Book Reviews 7/30/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 7/30/25

The Fruit Tree by Sabir Ahmed

Rating: 3/5

Spice: 0/5

Plot: 4/5

Primary Genre: Romantic Suspense

Blurb: Adam is your typical shy guy in school, with no thoughts towards romance outside of his daydreaming. However, that all changes one day, when he gets saved by an unlikely Eve. Eve is one of the more popular girls in school, but maybe he had misjudged her. Rescued from her boyfriend, Adam can't help but admire Eve. They quickly become good friends and the rest, as they say, is history.
Follow them as they grow from teenagers to adults and watch how their relationship evolves with them. As they explore themselves and figure out who they are, their love will change. With the assistance of their parents, who would love for them to be together, will it be enough? Will they end up on the same page? Or will the chapters they write forever be out of sync?
This is not the same Biblical tale you're familiar with. She wasn't made from his rib, and he had his own garden. With no god to guide them, nor a devil to deceive them, how would they envisage Eden? They were left alone to be victims of their hearts and hostages to their minds. He was the forbidden fruit, but would she bite?

Dawn's Book Reviews 7/28/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 7/28/25

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier

L.O.R.D.S. #1

Rating: 4/5

Spice: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Primary Genre: Dark Romance

Blurb: THE CHOSEN ONE

I vow. You vow. We vow.

Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one.

People think growing up with money is freeing, but I promise you, it’s not. My entire life has been planned out for me. I never got the chance to do what I wanted until Ryat Alexander Archer came along and gave me an option for a better life. He offered me what no one else ever had—freedom.

I chose to be his. He made me believe that anyway, but it was just another lie. A way that the Lords manipulate you into doing what they want.

After being sucked into the dark, twisted world of the Lords, I embraced my new role and allowed Ryat to parade me around like the trophy I was to him. But like all things, what started out as a game soon became a fight for survival. And the only way out was death.

This book can be read as a standalone but the timeline of the Lords books is as follows:
The Ritual
The Sinner
The Sacrifice
Sabotage (the H isn't a Lord but he works for a Lord)

Dawn's Book Reviews 5/18/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 5/18/25

It’s A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

Rating: 5/5

Spice: 0/5

Plot: 5/5

Primary Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb: From the USA Today bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script, a novel about a former adolescent TV punchline who has left her awkwardness in the rearview mirror thanks to a fake-it-till-you-make-it mantra that has her on the cusp of success, until she tells a lie that sets her on a crash-course with her past, spending a week in Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love. Rules for a love story: There are none. It’s all a lie. Jane Jackson knows that true love is a lie. Laughter is the only truth—you can’t fake a belly laugh. Jane should know, she spent her adolescence as "Poor Janey Jakes," the barbecue-sauce-in-her-braces punchline on America's fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios and she’s living by a new mantra: Fake it till you make it. Except, she might have faked it too far. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she opened her mouth and a big fat fib fell out. She claimed that Jack Quinlan, hottest popstar of the moment, has promised to write an original song for the soundtrack. Jack may have been her first kiss—and greatest source of shame—but she hasn’t spoken to him in twenty years. Now, Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan while facing down her past is Jane's idea of hell, but Dan just might surprise her. While covering up her lie, can they find something true?

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 2/8/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 2/8/25

Ghost Dick by Kinsley Kincaid

Rating: 4/5

Spice: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Primary Genre: Dark Romance

Blurb:

You Can Never Escape The Town
The Legacy
The Legends
Are Your Responsibility
Welcome to Port Canyon

This is a Very Taboo Dark Romance

Dawn's Book Reviews 1/10/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 1/10/25

Don’t Stop by Lauren Biel

Rating: 4/5

Spice: 5/5

Primary Genre: Dark Romance, Traumance

Trigger Warnings: Please check the author’s website before reading

Blurb: If you don't stop, you'll live. If you do, you know what will happen. So for the love of all things unholy, don’t stop.
-Dalton and Rayna
The Halloween Harvesters
This is a similar hitchhiker themed romance but is more horror. It won't be in the series with the regular dark hitchhiker romances (Ride or Die Romances). Ride AND die!

Tropes: Unhinged fmc and mmc
More innocent mmc
damsel in distress
insta obsession
enemies to lovers
dark humor/banter
mask kink (they both wear masks)

Dawn's Book Reviews 1/3/25 Dawn's Book Reviews 1/3/25

What’s In A Kiss by Lauren Kate

Rating: 3.5/5

Spice: .5

Primary Genre: Romantic Comedy

Plot: 4/5

Blurb: From # 1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Kate comes an enemies-to-lovers “what if” romance about a prom kiss that never was, and one woman’s magical chance to live what might have been.This is not how Liv wanted to see Jake Glasswell for the first time in ten years. Once her high school rival and the prom date who humiliated her, now a successful TV personality, he’s more attractive than he has any right to be. And he’s her Lyft passenger.Since the prom night kiss that never was, Liv’s life has not gone to plan. She deferred Julliard to be with her mom during a crisis, and now swears she’s happy as a recently furloughed drama teacher going on no-strings dates. This weekend she’s maid of honor to her best friend, Masha, and, of course, Jake is the best man. But when Liv glares into Jake’s eyes as Masha says, “I do,” the universe turns on its axis and Liv is suddenly living a version of her life where prom night was the beginning of her and Jake, not the end, and it turns out he’s the love of her life. The catch? Her mom and Masha hate her now. What’s in a kiss? Maybe everything.