We Live and Breathe Books: Library Loans

Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
Published by Atria Books on June 25, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
four-half-stars

Goodreads

The daughter of an aging rock star finds herself working for the hottest musician on the planet and is shocked when sparks start to fly—especially since she swore she’d never, ever date a celebrity—in this unputdownable romance that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry.

She wants three things. He isn’t one of them...

Dumped by her cheating ex, fired from her dream job, and about to lose her Clementine Monroe is not having a good day. So when her sisters get her drunk and suggest reviving a childhood ritual called the Breakup Spell, she doesn’t see the harm in it.

But now Clemmie has accidentally ruined a funeral, had her first one-night stand, and she’s stuck with a new job she definitely doesn’t want—spending six weeks alone with the gorgeous and very-off-limits rock star, Theo Eliott.

He’s the most famous man on the planet. Her life’s a disaster. As their summer together turns into its own kind of magic, is Clemmie cursed to repeat the mistakes of her past—or will her future see all her wishes come true?

After Clemmie lost her job and her boyfriend, her sisters raced to her side. In order to cheer her up, the "Weird Sisters" resurrected the break-up spell from their youth. Maybe there was no real magic, but those three wishes seemed to be coming true starting with Clemmie's one night stand. She thought she would never see HIM again, but their worlds seemed destined to collide. Stuck for six weeks with a rockstar, will Clemmie be able to put her past aside and open her heart to the possibility of love?

When I first found Under Your Spell, I thought it was going to be some sort of paranormal book. It wasn't, but it was quite a wonderful and charming romance. I definitely felt for Clemmie who had been wronged by too many men in her life, but I so wanted her to give Theo a fair chance because HE WAS NOT THEM!!

No, Theo was a wonderful man. He admitted he had a checkered past, but he had grown to want more as he aged, and what he wanted was Clemmie. Theo was precious with her, and all the antics at the beach house were so much fun. I loved watching his rockstar regiment unravel as he and Clemmie grew closer and closer. They were so sweet together, and the way he stood up for her. *swoon* There was also some charming grandish gestures towards the end of the story that thrilled me.

The romance was a good one, but I also adored the relationship between the sisters. All three women were the same age, but they were not triplets. They just all shared the same dad who was, uh, living the rockstar life. Kind of "ew", but a beautiful little family comprised of the three sisters and their moms formed from it all. They had such a great dynamic and were really just "there" for each other. I loved how different each of them were, while also blending together so well. There were so many great scenes between the three sisters which never failed to make me happy.

Overall, Under Your Spell was a fun romance filled with lots of familial love and hijinks that delighted me to no end.

Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Published by Berkley on July 2, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction, Romance
four-half-stars

Goodreads

A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up…

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she’s standing in her ‘shine like a star’ nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife.

When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to earth and reconnect with the mysterious stranger, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start at life. But in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind…

Could you imagine you meet your end choking on a microwave hamburger? Well, that was what happened to Delphie. But while she was meeting with her afterlife counselor, she connected with another recently deceased man who it seemed was in Evermore by accident. Of course Delphie was disappointed, but her afterlife counselor has a deal for her. Delphie was granted ten days to find and get her "soulmate" to kiss her. This was easier said than done.

I knew I was going to love this book. I could just tell from the synopsis, the cover, and all the early reviews that me and this book were a great match. So, what did I like about it?

This book was funny! I never trust the publishers when it comes to that "rom-com" label. They often tend to over estimate the comedic portion of the book, but this book was funny and even sometimes, hilarious. Who knew a book about death could be so much fun, but Delphie searching for her soulmate resulted in so many amusing situations. I smiled, laughed, and cringed as I also hoped for certain things to happen.

This was a book about second chances. Her father left her, her mother left her, her best friend left her -- all these acts of abandonment force Delphie into self preservation mode. She built a fortress around her heart while deeming herself a long wolf. On her return to her life, she began reaching out and forming friendships. It was really lovely to see her take those chances, and the response was positive as she was embraced by these new members of her circle. I adored the relationship between Delphie and her elderly neighbor, but the best was her ties with her neighbor, Cooper.

Cooper and Delphie were sort of enemies, and boy, could they spar. But when she enlisted Cooper to help in the search for her soulmate while posing as Cooper's girlfriend, things really got interesting. Let's just say there was a lot simmering below the surface with these two, ANS there was a surprising and stupendous link between them as well.

But the icing on the cake was that this was a story about second chances. At first glance, it seemed like a second chance to cement that love connection with her soulmate, but this was also Delphie's second chance to really build a life for herself, to make it be about more than going to work and going to sleep. It was her chance to get closure with respect to those who left her, and to open her heart to new friendships. It was also a chance to reclaim parts of her life that she had given up, and I was cheering Delphie on the entire time.

Overall, this was a fun and heartwarming tale reminding readers to live life to the fullest and embrace the people who love you. I absolutely adored every second of this story which made me smile and laugh while filling me with glee.