Review: What Happens in Paradise by Olivia Spring*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the What Happens In Paradise blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: What Happens In Paradise
Author: Olivia Spring
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings:  References To Death Of A Parent, References To Death Of A Partner

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)  

What happens in paradise… stays in paradise!

Hotel guest relations manager Jasmine, also known as a Love Alchemist, adores her job at the exclusive Spanish Love Hotel. She prides herself on helping guests meet their perfect match. But matchmaking is absolutely forbidden between staff. And so Jasmine must resist the attraction she feels every time she’s around delectable sous-chef, Alejandro. The problem is, she knows the feeling is mutual. But she cannot jeopardise her job or break the rules.

Because all her hard work is about to be recognized when she’s asked to set up the new branch of the hotel in Jamaica. With an ocean between her and temptation, Jasmine is ecstatic. This is just the distance she needs to keep her feelings under control. But there is one kink in her plan… Alejandro has been asked to join her. For two whole weeks!

Under the sultry Jamaican sun, keeping it strictly professional becomes impossible when romance is literally all around them! So they agree a (secret) holiday fling may help satisfy their desires and then they can move on. After all, what happens in paradise stays in paradise… right?

What Happens in Paradise is the latest romantic comedy from author Olivia Spring and the second instalment of her ‘The Love Hotel’ series. This is a fun and spicy romance which blends the workplace romance and forbidden romance tropes perfectly, set against the beautiful backdrops of sunny Spain and Jamaica. Add in a reverse age gap (she’s older, he’s younger), the only one bed trope and a whole lot of forced proximity and you have this brilliant romance which will make the perfect beach-read for 2025.

I took part in the blog tour for the first book in the series ‘The One That Got Away’ last year (click here to read my review) and fell in love with the premise of the matchmaking hotel so I was eagerly awaiting the release of this book and it certainly did not disappoint.

This is a really easy quick read with short and snappy chapters and a perfectly paced narrative. We have a dual POV first person narrative and this worked perfectly for the story. I particularly loved the Jamaican setting and Olivia Spring’s vivid descriptions of the beautiful landscape instantly transported me there.

So many of our beloved romance tropes have been packed into this story and they all worked perfectly. I’ve not read too many reverse age-gap books (where the FMC is older – in this case in her late 30s - and the MMC younger – in this case in his late 20s) but this worked really well. The combination of it being a forbidden romance but there being such an intense forced proximity element with them having to attend romantic excursions together created such a brilliant plot that I just couldn’t get enough of.

There’s palpable sexual tension between Jasmine and Alejandro which was so perfectly crafted and had me absolutely hooked. And the ‘fuck it’ moment we finally got was so worth it, as was the brilliant spice in the chapters which followed. Their chemistry was electric and the romantic scenes between them – both spicy and just sweet – were really well written.

Olivia Spring writes thoroughly loveable characters and Jasmine and Alejandro were no exception. They both felt really real and relatable. Through each of them we explore the concept of starting a new chapter in their lives and learning to love again following divorce and the death of a partner respectively and this was really well written, particularly Alejandro’s grief.

Overall, What Happens In Paradise is another fun and spicy read from Olivia Spring. It’s perfect if you want something you can read in a single sitting as you lounge by the pool somewhere sunny with a cocktail in hand (bonus points if it’s rum based as that’s so on theme with this book).

Review: Confessions Of A Virgin On A Dating App by Sydney Wilder

 *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: Confessions Of A Virgin On A Dating App
Author: Sydney Wilder
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings:  Attempted Sexual Assault, Religious Trauma, Stalking, Drug Scars, Mentions Of Past Drug Use, Mentions Of Alcoholism, Divorce, Sexual Shame/Stigma, STDs, Miscarriage, Mentions Of Self Harm, Pressure To Have Sex, References To Purity/Abstinence Culture

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Open Door)  

Sex.

Everyone's concerned with whether or not to have it.
But what happens when you can’t?

Avery Murphy has a problem. Ever since she tried losing her virginity to her college boyfriend, she’s been physically unable to have sex. It’s just too painful. When her failed promiscuity gets her kicked out of bible college and ostracized by her religious family, Avery packs up and moves halfway across the state of Florida in search of a new life.

Now five years later, Avery is happy and comfortable in Orlando, with a job she loves and cute townhouse to call home. She spends most of her free time at a gaming shop, where she enjoys tabletop gaming with a wonderful group of friends - including Devin Lancaster, the shop’s snarky owner. But as her 27th birthday approaches, she longs for a partner to share it all with. She turns to online dating, eager to find a match… but who wants to be with a woman who can’t have sex?

Through a series of dating mishaps and awkward romances, Avery goes on a painful yet eye-opening journey to unravel the cause of her condition. And when one night changes everything, Avery realizes her sexual dysfunction may be caused by much bigger health issues… and that love can often be found when - and where - you least expect it.

Confessions Of A Virgin On A Dating App is the latest novel from author Sydney Wilder. This is a brilliant age gap friends to lovers romance which also features important topics such as endometriosis, sexual dysfunction and religious trauma.

Sydney Wilder perfectly nailed the blend of romance, humour and more serious representation. The book is well paced and a compelling read.

It is truly brilliant to see an underrepresented topic like endometriosis represented within romance fiction, particularly in such depth. We follow Avery’s journey towards getting a diagnosis and her journey towards starting to overcome the sexual dysfunction that has been caused by her condition.

The book also explores abstinence/purity culture and religious trauma. These serious topics were all handled well and explored in the depth they deserved which was brilliant to see.

Avery was a brilliant FMC who felt really relatable. We also had a fantastic MMC in Devin who was so sweet and thoughtful. This is an age gap romance but both of them are adults and Avery as the younger of the two of them is in her late twenties. Avery and Devin had brilliant chemistry and it was amazing to see how supportive and respectful Devin was towards Avery’s health issues and resulting sexual dysfunction.

This book is very heavy on the gaming content with many chapters set in the gaming store and, as someone who isn’t a gamer, these sections did unfortunately start to drag after a while. But I’m sure if you’re into RPGs then you’ll enjoy this aspect of the book. 

Overall, this is a sweet and important romance read covering topics it's truly brilliant to see represented within the genre.

Review: A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the A Lady's Lesson In Scandal blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: A Lady's Lesson In Scandal
Author: Darcy McGuire
Genre: Historical Romance

Trigger warnings:  Sex Trafficking, Hanging Frequent References to Torture, Abuse By Parents,
Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Homophobia, References To Death Of A Parent, Brief References To Death Of A Sibling, Implied Sexual Abuse By A Parent (of a side character)

Rating: ★★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door) 

Wallflower at risk of ruin…

Secret femme-fatale in training Millicent Whittenburg needs to escape her unpleasant betrothal. Taking matters into her own hands, she plans her eventual ruin! Then she can disappear from society to carry out the Queen’s deadly missions. Step 1: seduce the one man who despises marriage more than her!

However, she hugely underestimates her target. Major General Beaufort Drake. Fearsome private investigator, he’s notoriously cold and visibly battle scarred. But Millie’s scandalously public kiss awakens a deeply suppressed desire in Drake. Instead of allowing them both to succumb to shame he does the unthinkable, and offers for her hand in a convenient marriage.

Nothing prepares them for the fireworks when a fearless damsel collides with a dangerous Major General! And as their secret missions align they face their hardest test on the glittering battlefield – a week long wedding house party where there is nowhere to escape…only new and wicked lessons to be learnt!

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is the latest historical romance from author Darcy McGuire and the second instalment of her series The Queen's Deadly Damsels. This novel is the perfect blend of the historical romance and crime thriller genres, set against the backdrop of Victorian England. Packed full of strong female characters and page-turning drama, in this beautiful age-gap romance we see a swoon-worthy ex-soldier, who bears both physical and mental battle scars, meet his match in an intelligent and witty wallflower who has her own secrets: she’s a secret femme-fatale in training for Queen Victoria herself.

This was my first time reading anything from Darcy McGuire and I was completely enthralled by her compelling writing style to the point that I could barely put the book down and read it in nearly a single sitting. Darcy McGuire has an incredible storytelling ability and her brilliant world building made the setting come alive on the page, remaining authentic to the time period in which the book is set. All of the beautifully written characters were so complex and I loved the choices to include little snippets of first-person writing throughout the narrative as insights into Millie and Beau’s internal dialogue amongst the rest of the third-person narrative, it really helped to make them really multidimensional characters we are readers could really connect with. The narrative was perfect-paced narrative which took so many unexpected twists and turns I really had no idea what would come next, particularly with regards to the crime element of the plot.

Millie was an absolutely brilliant protagonist and the definition of as strong female character. She was strong-willed, so intelligent and really fought against societal expectations of her because of her gender. I warmed to her instantly and it was brilliant to see her grow throughout the book. Our MMC is Major General Beaufort Drake, known to his friends as Beau. He was a beautifully written and very complex character I’d challenge any reader not to fall in love with immediately; I know I definitely did. He was the perfect match for Millie and I loved the many similarities we gradually began to see between the two of them, including their past traumas, and the way this formed the foundations for their relationship. They had brilliant banter, constantly verbally sparring throughout the book. If as a reader you love the trope of a MMC really looking after a FMC you will particularly adore Beau and this formed some of my favourite scenes in the entire book. This is a spicy romance and this aspect to the plot was beautifully written. I also loved how the characters navigated their different experiences levels when it came to intimacy and getting to see Beau introduce Millie to her own sexual pleasure.

Millie is just one of a whole host of strong female characters we see throughout A Lady's Lesson in Scandal and a particular shoutout must be given to Lady Philippa Winterbourne, Millie’s mentor and one of my favourite characters I’ve ever met in a book. I also particularly adored young Billy as a supporting character and he had me smiling every time he appeared in a scene. Darcy McGuire also writes antagonists incredibly well. Whilst I won’t go into detail about some of the antagonists and risk spoiling the whodunnit element, I will say that the character of Patricia was particularly vile. She is Millie’s cruel, heartless and abusive stepmother (please see the content warnings at the beginning of this review) who made me shudder every time she appeared on the page.

Although this is the second book in the The Queen's Deadly Damsels series, this was my introduction to it and to Darcy McGuire’s writing as a whole. It does still work fantastically as a standalone story but it has also made me really excited to read the first book ‘The Secret Life of a Lady’ to delve deeper into the romance of Lady Hannah Simmons and Duke Robert Killian, who both played supporting roles in the plot of this book. I am also now eagerly anticipating the release of the third book which is due to be published next year. I do already have my predictions for who this next book will feature as a protagonist and I’m very excited to see where Darcy McGuire takes the rest of the series.

Overall, A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is bar far the best historical romance we’ve seen this year and an absolute must-read for fans of the genre, especially those who are also partial to a crime thriller plotline that keeps you on your toes throughout.

Review: When You Smile by Melissa Brayden*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: When You Smile
Author: Melissa Brayden
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance

Trigger warnings:  Death Of A Parent

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Open Door) 

Have you ever had a crush on your babysitter? Taryn Ross sure did. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte was sophisticated, thoughtful, gorgeous, and fun. Taryn counted the minutes until they’d hang out. But Charlotte and her family moved away.

Now a transfer student at Hillspoint University, Taryn is ready to officially come out when she runs into a familiar face at a party. Charlie, now a grad student, insists on walking a drunk Taryn home. To the detriment of Taryn’s heart (and libido), Charlie has only grown kinder (and hotter) with time.

Charlie Adler has a five-year plan: finish her MFA without any hiccups, figure out a timeline for her engagement, and become an acclaimed fiction writer. Easy, right? That is until Taryn shows up at Hillspoint and shakes up her world like a snow globe. This Taryn is different: soulful, brooding, and all grown up. Charlie’s never been attracted to a woman before, and isn’t dating your one-time charge against the rules? If only their toe-curling, mind-dulling, body-aching chemistry would calm the hell down.

When You Smile is the latest sapphic romance novel from author Melissa Brayden. This was my first time reading anything from the author but I was very quickly hooked into the story and fell completely in love with both Charlie and Taryn.

Charlie and Taryn were an adorable couple who totally captured my heart and their romantic scenes had me smiling from ear to ear. The strong communication and openness between the two of them was also brilliant to see portrayed within romantic fiction.

Both Charlie and Taryn were wonderful quirky protagonists. Despite the age gap they were both mature and it was great to see their passions (writing and photography respectively) explored within the story too. The portrayal of Charlie’s grief following the loss of her mother, who was a single parent, was a particular strength of the book. The side characters were also a highlight for me, particularly Caz and Sasha who were absolutely hilarious. I also loved Taryn’s parents and the way they instantly welcomed Charlie in like she was one of their own, giving her the family she had missed since the death of her mother.

This was a great book to read in Pride month as it focuses on Charlie’s sexuality awakening when she finds herself attracted to a woman for the first time. It really felt like this topic was generally handled with care and I liked the fact that Charlie and Taryn took their relationship slowly. Taryn had already come out as a lesbian prior to the start of the story but she was also inexperienced in WLW relationships which created a nice dynamic between the two of them. When we got to them, the spicy scenes were also well written and felt really realistic, especially for inexperienced characters, which I really loved.

I will say that I would have liked a little more exploration into Charlie’s sexuality as it felt like it went from ‘I was straight and now I’m a lesbian’, which is ultimately bisexual erasure and my pet-hate in books exploring sexuality awakening.

When You Smile was an easy five star book for me until the final quarter or so of the book. There was a third act breakup which did feel misaligned with the rest of the book and the relationship Taryn and Charlie had. Miscommunication and not working issues out like adults didn’t feel true to the characters we knew Taryn and Charlie to be so the choice to add conflict in this way didn’t sit right with me. I also didn’t like the direction they took Danny’s mum in either, it didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the story and felt like a poor attempt to add a bit of angst to the plot. All of this reduced the book to a four star for me but it doesn’t take away from the many strengths of the rest of the book.

Overall, When You Smile is a sweet and easy sapphic romance. It was my first Melissa Brayden read but won’t be my last.

Review: A Duke of One's Own by Emma Orchard*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the A Duke Of One's Own blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: A Duke Of One's Own
Author: Emma Orchard
Genre: Historical Romance

Trigger warnings:  Guns, Blackmail, Death Of A Parent, References To War

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)

Summer, 1816. A notorious rebel is about to meet her match...

Lady Georgiana Pendlebury is no stranger to breaking the rules of polite society. But when a so-called ‘friend’ invites her to a clandestine party, Georgiana is shocked to discover the event is more scandalous than even she could have imagined. So when a mysterious stranger offers help, she accepts, not realising their encounter will turn her life upside down.

Later that summer, Georgiana is invited to attend a house party at an infamous castle in Yorkshire. The gathering is a loosely veiled effort to arrange a marriage for the Duke of Northriding, who desperately needs an heir. Duke Gabriel Mauleverer has a terrible reputation as a rake, and Georgiana is happy to be a guest purely for the entertainment, but upon arrival, she is shocked to discover that the Duke is none other than the stranger who rescued her weeks earlier.

As the other ladies vie for the Duke’s attention, Georgiana is desperate to avoid their shocking secret getting out. But she finds herself caught, unable to avoid Gabriel’s gaze. Are they a threat to each other? Or could they be the answer to each other’s greatest desires?

-

A Duke Of One’s Own is the latest compelling regency romance from author Emma Orchard. Set in 1816, in the middle of the regency era, our story is packed full of all of your favourite regency romance tropes and is perfect for both seasoned regency readers and readers who are newer to the genre.

Emma Orchard is an incredible storyteller who had me hooked from the very first chapter. Her vivid descriptions made the Yorkshire coastal castle setting of Northriding Castle come alive on the page. The chapters set here felt very Gothic in style which I loved, and I was fascinated by all of the little secret passageways and doors which Gabriel was able to use to secretly visit Georgiana.

This is a lighter regency romance read which is perfect if you’re looking for something quick and steamy (no pun intended!). I easily read the whole book in a single sitting of a couple of hours thanks to how fast-paced and engaging the narrative was.

As previously stated, A Duke Of One’s Own is full of all of your favourite regency romance tropes and they are all wonderfully written. This includes an age gap romance between a virgin heroine and a brooding older Duke and a forced marriage as a result of these characters being found in a compromising situation.

Lady Georgiana Pendlebury, or Georgie as she’s known by her loved ones, is our feisty and headstrong debutante FMC. Our brooding, swoon-worthy silver fox MMC is Gabriel Mauleverer, the Duke of Northriding. The way Gabriel talked about Georgie was gorgeous and he fell first, and harder, which was really well portrayed within the story. I’m also a sucker for a good sickbed scene, especially when it’s the MMC taking care of the FMC, and this was wonderfully done within A Duke Of One’s Own. If I hadn’t already been head over heels in love with Gabriel by that point in the story, how he looked after Georgie would have done it.

Georgie and Gabriel had great chemistry and – especially for a miscommunication trope hater like myself -seeing such open and honest communication between the two of them was wonderful. We have lots of really hot spicy scenes throughout the book and they navigated the contrast of experience between Georgie as a virgin FMC and Gabriel as a more experienced and older MMC very well. Their great communication continued within their steamier encounters, particularly around consent and exploration of potential kinks, which was great to see within a regency romance.

A Duke Of One’s Own has great LGBTQIA+ representation within the story which was fantastic to see, especially as the representation came without any real comment outside of just total familial acceptance. Miss Spry – who was, to quote the book, Georgie’s aunts “sapphic companion” – was my favourite supporting character, particularly when she said to Georgie “You’re not a possession, though the law says you are”.

A Duke Of One’s Own is the second instalment of the The Runaway Heiress series but the story also works well as a standalone story and this was my introduction to the series. As I was reading I did find myself getting really interested in the backstory of Georgiana’s brother Hal and his wife Cassandra so I was really excited to see that they were the focus of the first book in the series (The Runaway Heiress) and it has gone straight onto my TBR. Within A Duke Of One’s Own we also get a little peek into the next instalment of the series (What the Lady Wants – due to be published in August 2024) through the introduction of the character of Isabella and I’m now highly anticipating the release of this next book.

Overall, A Duke Of One’s Own is a fantastic spicy regency romp, perfect when you want a lighter historical read which is still packed full of steam and romance. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.