Isn't It Romantic?

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Worst in Show by Anna E. Collins
Published by Forever on August 13, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Aspiring fashion designer Cora Lewis should have known better. Entering her grandpa’s extremely adorable—and totally unruly—pups in a dog show? What was she thinking? Oh, right. Her grandpa is injured, his beloved pet shop is losing the fight against the upscale dog boutique across the street, and his business and home are on the line. She needs that prize money to save the day—and if the only way to win is to train with her strongest adversary, then she’ll suck it up and ask for help.

Rival store owner Leo Salinger is everything Cora is not: successful, wealthy, and overly ambitious. She would never guess that he is the kind and witty pen pal she's met on a local message board. But somewhere between teaching pups to heel, fetch, and stay, Cora and Leo are finding a little competition can ignite a serious attraction. Can they stop this sexy spark . . . before all her dreams go to the dogs?

Rival pet shop owners join forces to train their pets for the annual dog show and find the spark between them hard to resist.

This book really hit the spot! I was looking for something to lift my spirits and adorable pups never let me down. But there was a lot more to this rivals-to-lovers romance with neighboring pet shop owners competing to be number one.

Cora had put her aspirations on the shelf while she attempted to help her grandfather save his pet shop. She had a plan, but Cora never anticipated King Canine moving in across the street. Pranks and dares ensued as a friendly rivalry developed between the two and eventually blossomed into a true friendship. This involved lots of funny, rom-commie stuff which delighted me along with all the witty banter. Collins turned it up a notch by having a sweet You've Got Mail subplot where I would say Cora and Leo really built a connection. It may have started as nerdy riddle challenges, but it grew from there as they slowly, anonymously revealed more of themselves.

Both Cora and Leo were lucky to have family members who loved and supported them, but they still carried residual pain associated with their parents. Cora continued to harbor feelings of abandonment while Leo's father constantly made him feel less-than. I was happy they had a chance to work through their trauma together, and there was even some closure for them by the end of this tale.

I loved the romance and the characters so much, but I also adored all the dog scenes. A big part of this story was training the dogs for the annual dog show. Obviously, there were shenanigans, but there was also the opportunity to root for the dogs which resulted in lots of warm and fuzzy feelings for me.

I don't know what else to say about this wonderful book. It was a source of great joy, and like all my favorites, it had me smiling like a fool and shedding happy tears.

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Heavy Hitter by Katie Cotugno
Published by Harper Perennial on August 20, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

The beloved New York Times bestselling author of Birds of California hits it out of the park with this smart, sexy, thrilling take on the celebrity-athlete story—a funny, sizzling, ripped-from-the-headlines romance between an international pop star and a major league baseball player who thought his best days were behind him.

Taylor and Travis. Jennifer and A-Rod. Marilyn and Joe. When a professional athlete and a megawatt star fall in love, the world is obsessed . . .

With four chart-topping albums, Lacey Logan is a superstar whose life no longer feels like her own. Her every move is photographed, videoed, and dissected online, and her carefully curated Instagram feed studied by fans worldwide. To maintain her privacy, Lacey skillfully controls her narrative, showing fans and paparazzi what she wants them to see.

But when Lacey discovers her boyfriend is hiding two devastating secrets—a bad cocaine habit and a pregnant girlfriend—she begins to lose confidence and control of her own story. Then big-shouldered baseball player Jimmy Hodges, a former Rookie of the Year when Lacey was in high school, walks into the bar where she’s venting to a friend. With his shaggy beard and unfashionable button-down, Jimmy is the opposite of the picture-perfect guy Lacey thinks she wants. Soon, sparks fly and inhibitions go out the window when Lacey dares to take some chances.

Lacey and Jimmy are polar opposites. But could this be the forever after they both need?

When a global superstar meets an MLB catcher near the end of his career sparks fly and thing quickly get complicated as Lacey Logan and Jimmy Hodges try to navigate their celebrity romance together.

I have been seeing a lot of readers who saw this as a fictionalize Taylor-Travis story. I cannot disagree that Lacey gave off super strong T Swift vibes, but I felt Jimmy was different. Regardless of who they remind you of, I adored that fact that after one sexually charged meeting, they built a friendship via DMs, texts, and phone calls. This was very meaningful given that they kept their inner circles so small and were often unable to really build true connections out of fear that person would betray them publicly.

Jimmy had declared that this was his final season, his final shot at the pennant, but he had some personal issues that were holding him back. His divorce and the death of his brother still weighed heavily on him. At the same time, Lacey was dealing with the fallout from her recent break-up. They found comfort and solace in each other, and I really wanted to see them find a way to build on that and be able to find their HEA together.

I have never been too keen on the celebrity culture, and I always sort of feel bad that their every move is scrutinized by the public with their pain mined for clicks. That aspect of celebrity was a big part of this story while Lacey and Jimmy attempted to build a relationship. As if the logistics of being in the same place on the same day wasn't hard enough, Lacey was constantly doubting her feelings as she vied to control the public narrative. It was all very stressful, but well worth the struggle as they seemed to belong to each other.

I greatly enjoyed reading Lacey and Jimmy's story as I am a huge fan of Cotugno's storytelling, though I felt the ending was a bit rushed. It was easy to see where it could go, but as a die-hard romance reader, I wanted to see it, not just imagine it. Still, this was a fun and sweet romance which explored the ups and downs of celebrity and trying to build meaningful relationships in that world.

*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

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