Isn't It Romantic?

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Hooked on You by Kathleen Fuller
Published by Thomas Nelson on May 1, 2021
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

When her grandmother injures herself sliding into third base, Riley McAllister must return to her small hometown to help run the family yarn store in this sweet, lighthearted romantic comedy.

Riley McAllister left the small Arkansas town of Maple Falls after graduating high school, hoping to make it big in New York as a mixed media artist. She’s still pursuing her dream when her grandmother begs her to come home and help her manage the store while she recovers from a broken leg she got after sliding into third base during a church softball game (she was safe, by the way). Riley agrees, planning to convince her grandmother to sell the old shop and retire so Riley can get back to the big city. New York is where she belongs, not some hick town that doesn’t even have a decent coffee shop.

Hayden Price’s life hasn’t turned out as he expected either. He still works in the hardware store his family has owned for several generations after his chance to make it out of Maple Falls ended when he blew out his pitching arm during a minor league game. Stuck with debt from college and a broken engagement, he decides to make the best of things when he comes back to Maple Falls and puts together the town’s first church softball team--with him as coach, of course.

Riley and Hayden went to high school together but ran in totally different circles. In fact, it’s safe to say they hated each other. Will that change when the softball team unexpectedly brings them together? Or will the pain and disappointment of their past failures keep them from discovering love in Maple Falls?

What a sweet small-town romance! Riley and Hayden both left Maple Falls to follow their dreams. Hayden pursued a career in baseball while Riley tried to make it in NYC as an artist. Both returned to Maple Falls for very different reasons, but it was coming "home" that helped them figure out their futures.

Riley was a tough nut to crack. She spent most of her life weighed down with feelings of loneliness and abandonment due to her mother. Her return to Maple Falls was much different from her previous life there. She was embraced by the community, fell in love, and realized that she was enough and worthy of all this affection and attention.

Hayden's story was just as wonderful. He had found a new path following an injury that ended his baseball career. He had returned home to help his father while he healed from a health crisis. I loved seeing his view of Maple Falls change and evolve, and I really did want him to plant some roots there.  

There was another storyline that I LOVED and hope will continue in the books that follow. Hayden and Riley noticed that the town was fading, and they had a plan to revitalize Maple Falls. This plan was just getting started, and I really do want to see it come to fruition. 

Overall, this was a very fun and sweet romance with a great small town setting and a big focus on friends, family, and found family which left me warm and fuzzy. 

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Sweeten the Deal by Katie Shepard
Published by Berkley on October 17, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

She's lonely, rich, and ten years too young for him—but she’s also his "sugar daddy," and they couldn't have less in common. Opposites attract in this charming new romance by Katie Shepard.

MBA student Caroline Sedlacek knows her personal balance sheet is a little lopsided. On the asset side, at twenty-two she’s got an NCAA trophy, a great education...and the two million dollars she unexpectedly inherited. Liabilities? She's never had friends, a boyfriend, or any life experiences away from the tennis court or the classroom. She'd love to invest herself in everything else, but "everything else" never came easily for her.

In the ten years since he left art school as a vaunted prodigy, Adrian Landry has won shows and major prizes—and done his best to shed his reputation as a pretty man who makes pretty paintings. Though currently broke and sleeping off a bad break-up on his college roommate’s couch, he knows this is the chance to get his life back on track at thirty-three—he just needs the money to find a new gallery.

When Adrian’s roommate lists him on a thinly veiled escort site, Caroline is not the patron he expected. She’s way too young, way too naive, and loudly uninterested in having sex with him. Instead, they’re both going to get exactly what they want: a little culture on her side, and a lot of cash on his. Aside from their sugar baby arrangement, they’ve got nothing in common. But as they reel from the symphony to the Haymarket, they learn that what they want and what they need might be two very different things.

Caroline had lived a very small and sheltered life, but an inheritance gave her the means to finally try for something BIGGER. Unfortunately, Caroline was not sure how to do that, so she signed up for a "sugar baby", a man who could help her explore Boston and all it had to offer, but would this arrangement remain strictly business?

This was a rather interesting and entertaining romance. I think many will embrace Caroline right away. She was sort of robbed of some common life experiences due to her sheltered upbringing. Her major life choices were all made for her until the inheritance freed her from her overbearing family. The money gave Caroline had the means to explore, but she was not quite sure where to start. I absolutely loved that fate brought Adrian into her world.

I have to admit, he was a bit of a sad sack at first. Following a breakup, Adrian found his world in tatters. He had once been a rising star in the art scene, but currently was more of a has-been. What better way for both Adrian and Caroline to get their futures on track than with each other.

This is an age-gap romance with Caroline being 22/23 and Adrian being 33. It was a big barrier for Adrian during the story, but it was easy to see that Caroline brought as much to his life as he brought to hers. They grew together over the course this tale, and I guess that made it ok for me.

Overall, this was fun and heartwarming read. I especially enjoyed seeing Caroline grow more independent and confident as she found a place to belong.

What would you spend an inheritance on?
Let us know in the comments!