Isn't It Romantic?

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The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on August 13, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral, in this delightfully fun and deeply emotional novel.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?

When two childhood friends are reunited following very public break-ups, they decide fake-dating will be the best revenge, but it may also be the second chance for them to find their HEA.

I am a HUGE Emma Lord fan. Her books are always jam-packed with witty banter, humor, and warmth, and The Break-Up Pact delivered that and more.

This was a friends-to-lovers, second chance romance and those are my two top tropes. June and Levi had been estranged since Levi left for college ten years prior. Until then, they had been thick as thieves with June harboring a huge crush on Levi. An overheard conversation and failure to share their feelings led to a rift, but that flame never went out. They may have seemed to move on, but there was always something missing from their relationships with other people.

Watching these two reconnect filled me with happiness. With so much beautiful shared history, they were destined for each other. The fake dates and wedding chores were a great way to force them together and they were a lot of fun, too. Whether Levi and June were at the club, running, or cake tasting, each activity allowed them to bond or renew the bond that was still there while also providing me with lots of entertainment.

I have always thought that Lord shined the brightest when her books were set in NYC, but I may have been wrong because I fell in love with everything about Benson Beach. This little beachside burgh gave off great small-town vibes. It was filled with delightful characters and was such a lovely backdrop for Levi and June's reunion.

One place I spent a lot of time was in June's tea shop, Tea Tide. This was the shop she and her sister dreamed up, and until her sister's death, June's involvement had been from afar. I was really rooting for June to turn the shop around, and this was a big part of her character arc. The process of saving the shop was sort of cathartic for June and it helped her deal with the grief and guilt she harbored regarding her sister's death while also moving forward in her own life. 

Once again, Lord has managed to delight me with a beautiful tale of family, friendship, second chances, and scones which had me laughing and smiling in equal measures. I found this to be a solid adult debut, and I am looking forward to many more.

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Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
Published by Berkley on August 13, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Goodreads

It's love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone’s spirits from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.

Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.

As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing… and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good.

Looking for a fresh start, Cassie buys a home in the most haunted town in Florida.

After four fantastic books in the Well Met world, DeLuca transported me to Boneyard Key, Florida. I quickly fell in love with this small town, its history and lore, as well as all the colorful characters who inhabited it. I am a sucker for a small town, but here, part of the fun was that it was a tourist town. I never really lived somewhere that got invaded by tourists, so it was amusing to see all the different ways the locals reacted.

This wasn't any old town though. Boneyard Key was a place inhabited by many spirits, and one such spirit was making Cassie's life a bit difficult. Part of this story was getting to the root of Cassie's haunting. I thought this part of the story was interesting, and it gave me the opportunity to learn more about the town and the important members of the the community.

As much as I enjoyed this part of the story, I did think it overshadowed the romance a bit. I absolutely adored Nick and Cassie together, but there was a lot of stuff that needed to be dealt with before they could have their full-on romance. Regardless of the situation, they were a great pairing, and I was happy to cheer them on.

They were both so lonely in their circumstances. Nick had been left behind by those he loved. His sister left, his parents left, and his girlfriend left. He stayed. Nick felt Boneyard Key was his legacy as a member of the founding fifteen families, and he wanted to be a part of Boneyard Key's future. 

Cassie was being left behind as all her friends married and had children. It's never easy being the only singleton in a group. I think it was difficult for her to move away from the friends she had known, but she knew changes were needed. I love that the universe brought Cassie and Nick together. They just clicked and understood each other on a higher level.

Overall, I thought this was a solid start to DeLuca's new series. I am excited to find out whose story will be next, and I am looking forward to returning to Boneyard Key.

*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

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