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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: The Confessions of a Lady 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 The Confessions Of A Lady blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: The Confessions Of A Lady
Author: Darcy McGuire
Genre: Historical Romance

Trigger warnings: References To Physical Abuse By A Parent, References To Alcoholism, Violence, Assault, Drugging, Kidnap, Guns, References To Sex Trafficking

Rating: ★★★★★

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

Dare she risk her secrets?

In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected member of the Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her every expectation and sets her traitorous heart racing.

Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the right place at the wrong time and who deliciously challenges his every order.

Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into daring confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs marquess?

The Confessions Of A Lady is the latest historical romance from author Darcy McGuire and the third instalment of her series The Queen's Deadly Damsels. This is another brilliant spicy Victorian romance with a fantastic crime element to it too.

Darcy McGuire has quickly become one of my favourite historical fiction authors as she has an incredible storytelling ability and always crafts a perfectly paced narrative which beautifully blends romantic moments with the high tension crime elements that are also central to the plot.

At the heart of this series is really strong female characters and Penny was no exception. She was a total badass and I really liked the choice to make her illiterate because she was really smart and this really showed that there’s so much more to intelligence than literacy. The scene where Penny demands that Liam treat her as his equal – far from the norm in Victorian society – was particularly impactful and showed beautifully how much she grew in the novel into an even stronger woman who really understood her own value.

I’ve said it before but the absolute feminist icon that is Lady Philippa Winterbourne, the mentor to all of the Queen’s deadly damsels, is one of my favourite strong female characters to have ever graced the pages of a historical fiction novel. I didn’t think it was possible but I fell in love with her even more in this novel. Although this book works well as a standalone story, I’d recommend also reading the rest of the The Queen's Deadly Damsels series as the protagonists from both earlier books feature heavily within this one and I personally really enjoyed being familiar with them prior to reading this book.

Liam was also a brilliant MMC, who I challenge any reader not to fall completely in love with particularly if you’re a fellow sucker for the ‘touch her and you die’ trope.

Penny and Liam had brilliant chemistry and there was a great dynamic between the two of them. I’ve not read anything focusing on this upstairs/downstairs trope before but found it really interesting and it worked really well in the context of this book.

We have several brilliant spicy scenes and they navigated the contrast of experience between Penny as a virgin FMC and Liam as a more experienced and older MMC very well. I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on consent, which was great to see within a historical romance and very important given the power imbalance that naturally existed with Liam being Penny’s employer.

Overall, this is yet another incredible historical romance novel from Darcy McGuire and a must read for fans of the historical romance and historical crime genres alike, particularly if you’re after something with an overall really feminist feel.

Review: Regally Binding by Rebecca Chase*

Title: Regally Binding
Author: Rebecca Chase
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Bomb Threats, Death Threats, Cancer, Death Of A Parent, Drugging, References To Bullying, References To Being Kicked Out By Parents As A Teenager

Rating: ★★★★

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

Liss is an average twenty-something woman with a regular job working in a bar...until the day she learns during a televised broadcast that her grandma had an affair with the king decades ago and she might be his granddaughter.

The dying king's announcement throws Liss into a world of paparazzi, royal parties, and death threats. But it also gives her hope that she could finally be part of a family, something she's wanted her whole life and especially after her mum died when Liss was nineteen. Now she has to decide if she's ready to give up her privacy, safety, and independence to be a princess.

To protect Liss in all this danger and stress is her swoonworthy new bodyguard, Bear. He’s cheeky, grumpy, and has secret tattoos beneath his suits. He’s also stubborn and bossy and clashes with Liss constantly. But Bear has a soft side too. He sits with Liss when she sleeps to make sure she doesn’t have nightmares and buys her stunning ballgowns to make her happy.

It's not long before all the bickering and tension morphs into sizzling hot chemistry. Both Liss and Bear know that giving into their attraction is a terrible idea...but it's getting harder and harder to fight their feelings for each other.

Will Bear keep Liss alive long enough for her to decide her future? And what if the one person keeping her safe is the same person she can’t live without?

Regally Binding is the latest romance novel from author Rebecca Chase, and the first in her new Closest Protection series. Fans of forbidden love, enemies to lovers, forced proximity and a good bodyguard romance, this is the book for you! Add in a found family, a fantastic ‘fuck it’ moment, a protective swoon-worthy ‘touch her and you die’ MMC and lots of banter and you have Regally Binding, a new spicy British romance, perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries and The Bodyguard.

The narrative is very well paced and I easily read the majority of the book in a single sitting. The plot of this book is very well crafted and more complex than your average romance, with Liss not only having to navigate suddenly becoming part of the royal family and her evolving relationship with her bodyguard but also becoming victim to death threats. There’s a mystery element with them trying to work out the identity of the person harassing Liss and also navigating concerns about the health of the king. Rebecca Chase found the perfect balance between these aspects to the plot and the romance, making for a really compelling story. I also loved how very British the story was!

Liss was an excellent protagonist who I really wanted to be friends with! I loved how normal she was, which made the plot of her suddenly being thrust into the royal family and the limelight even more compelling. This book explores grief through Liss having lost her mother – who was a single parent – to cancer. There is also fantastic anxiety and panic attacks representation through Liss and this was one of my favourite things about the book. As a someone who has had both for 15+ years, this representation felt really authentic so it was really powerful.

Bear was a swoon-worthy MMC to say the least. I very quickly fell head over heels in love with him but can you blame me? I particularly loved that he was such a complex character rather than just being the sexy love interest with surface-level characterisation you can often see in romance books, particularly spicy ones. Bear has a really great dynamic with Strike and the exploration of Bear’s backstory and how he found a family with Strike and his parents was really emotive.

Liss and Bear were a brilliant match and the banter between the two of them had me giggling throughout. Their romance builds at a good pace, with lots of sexual tension before the much-anticipated ‘fuck it’ moment. Their chemistry was electric and the spicy scenes were some of the best I’d read in a long while. Dirty talk fans, you’ll eat this up!

You will love Regally Binding if you fancy a read which is the perfect combo of sweet and spicy, especially for those who loved The Princess Diaries as a teenager but now fancy something with (A LOT) more spice!

Review: Lavash At First Sight by Taleen Voskuni*

Title: Lavash At First Sight
Author: Taleen Voskuni
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance

Trigger warnings: Toxic Work Environment, Difficult Family Relationships

Rating: ★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Closed Door)

Twenty-seven year old Nazeli ‘Ellie’ Gregorian likes the prestige of her tech marketing job but hates the condescending Patagonia-clad tech bros, her micromanaging boss, and, now, her ex-boyfriend. Who dumped her. At work.

So when Ellie's lovingly overbearing parents send her to attend a conference in Chicago, she's eager for the distraction. While she's there, she just has to help their company, Hagop's Fine Armenian Foods, win a huge award and get a free Superbowl ad. No big deal.

Within minutes at the conference, she meets witty, devil-may-care Vanya Simonian. The sparks fly as they get to know each other – both Armenian! From the Bay Area! Whose families are into food! But their meet-cute is cut short when Ellie’s parents recognize Vanya as the daughter of their greatest rivals – the Simonian family whose mission (according to Ellie's mother) is to whitewash and repackage Armenian food for the American health-food crowd.

Sworn as enemies, Ellie and Vanya must play to win the award by the week’s end – while keeping their feelings secret . . .

Lavash At First Sight is the latest romance novel from author Taleen Voskuni. After reading and loving her first novel Sorry, Bro last year (click here to read my review) I was highly anticipating the release of Lavash At First Sight but unfortunately it missed the mark for me.

To start by discussing the aspects of the story I did like, as with Sorry, Bro I enjoyed the bisexual rep and the exploration of both Ellie and Vanya’s parent’s attitudes to them being queer. It was also nice to see the celebration of Armenian culture that's briefly sprinkled throughout the story but I really wanted more of this as it was the thing which would really set this book apart from others.

Unfortunately, that is where my praise for the book ends. The plot primarily takes place over the course of a weekend but it was very slow paced and I felt like I was crawling through it by the end. Although the book is marketed as a romance novel it really actually lacked any proper romance plot. The plot was primarily just about Ellie attending a food packaging conference with her parents, taking part in a competition to win a free Superbowl ad and then gradually realising she wanted to leave her corporate job and join the family business. Any romantic aspect was quite flat and felt like an after-thought by the author. This was ultimately really disappointing as I loved the romance story in Sorry, Bro so had high hopes for this book too. I did also get quite tired of the conference setting very quickly. The competition element added a bit more excitement but it felt very repetitive in the end.

Ellie was a fundamentally unlikeable protagonist. She had no likeable qualities, little personality outside of her corporate job and very little character development over the course of the story. Vanya also felt like quite a two-dimensional character whose only discernible personality trait was being sexually attractive to our protagonist.

I didn’t find myself rooting for Ellie and Vanya at all, they really lacked chemistry and we didn’t get much relationship building. The fact that their relationship was forbidden due to their parents being enemies added a bit of an interesting element but it wasn’t enough to stop the romance feeling quite flat. This is a closed-door romance which meant that the author almost needed to work harder to write relationship building scenes which have us buy into the chemistry but this wasn’t achieved at all.

Unfortunately Lavash At First Sight was a disappointing read for me.

Review: The Upper Crush by Evie Alexander*

*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 The Upper Crush blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: The Upper Crush
Author: Evie Alexander
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Parent Arrested, Children Taken Into Care

Rating: ★★★★★

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

He wasn’t banking on someone else taking the reins…

Lady Estelle Foxbrooke is done cleaning up the mess left by her wild parents. She’s got a plan: take the reins and save the family estate her way. But then she’s saddled with a business partner she’s hated all her life. He’s her twin brother’s worst enemy and looms in her path like a six-foot-four hurdle.

After a catastrophic business failure, rich and successful James Hunter-Savage has watched his dream life in London crash and burn. Forced to ditch the city for the Somerset countryside, he’s now living with his parents and expected to work with the infuriatingly attractive Estelle. She’s sharper than a whip, pushes all his buttons, and seems determined to break him.

As Estelle and James jockey for position, their explosive personalities combust into passion, sending Estelle’s plans to the edge of ruin. With James’s flimsy reputation in tatters, and the biggest event on the Foxbrooke calendar on the brink of collapse, will they realise their love is worth fighting for? Or are their hearts and hard work heading for the ultimate fall?

The Upper Crush is the latest instalment in Evie Alexander’s Foxbrooke series. Fans of enemies to lovers, workplace romances, forced proximity and small country town settings, with tons of spice, laugh out loud humour and ‘Britishness’ thrown in for good measure, you will adore The Upper Crush just as much as I did.

I’m a sucker for a good enemies to lovers romance and Evie Alexander writes this trope impeccably well. It was combined beautifully with the forced proximity and workplace romance tropes through Estelle and James being forced to work together organising a new music festival. They start to try and get under each other’s skin by pulling pranks and jokes on each other and this really made me laugh out loud, as did their witty (and very British – which I loved!) banter. The increasingly sexual tension between them was also SUPERB.

The Upper Crush is a couple hundred pages longer than the romance books I am typically drawn to but I just could not put it down so completely flew through the story. Evie Alexander has such an engaging writing style that puts you right into the Somerset countryside setting and the story was brilliantly paced.

Although this is the third instalment of the Foxbrooke series, with all the books set in the fictional Somerset village of Foxbrooke and the characters from the previous books featuring in minor supporting roles, the story also works well as a standalone story. The Upper Crush was my introduction to the series but it has made me desperate to sink my teeth into the earlier books, particularly An Unholy Affair to find out more about Eveline and Jack’s love story.

Estelle and James have sizzling chemistry from the very start of the story so it came as no shock when the spicy scenes practically set the page on fire they were so hot. Something I really like in a romance story is when we get to explore spicy scenes from the perspectives of both partners and this was done really well within The Upper Crush. James’ perspective - and in particular the way he described Estelle in those moments – was incredible. I also loved the amount of variety we had within the spicy scenes, including some solo scenes from both James and Estelle.

Alongside all of this incredible steam, there are some really romantic heartwarming moments which just made me melt. If your love language is gift giving you’ll particularly love this story.

Estelle was a strong, badass FMC. I loved the little insights we got into the internal conversations she was having with herself when she was trying to be stubborn and not fall for James. James was your typical charming alpha MMC who had a softer side that you gradually got to see as the novel progressed. As I hadn’t met him before, unlike other readers who had read the earlier books in the series, I didn’t have that pre-judgment of him going into the story and that did mean that I did fall in love with him quite early on, without him having to redeem himself too much.

The Upper Crush also has a fantastic cast of supporting characters who brought so much to the story, particularly both James and Estelle’s families. We have diverse family types represented in the story, particularly through Estelle’s three parents who are in a polyamorous relationship. There’s also lots of scenes with dogs; enough said.

Overall, The Upper Crush is a gorgeous spicy romance read. I’ve been absolutely hooked on Evie Alexander’s writing and the inhabitants of Foxbrooke and can’t wait to read more of the series.

Review: Oar Than Friends by Lulu Moore*

Title: Oar Than Friends
Author: Lulu Moore
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Death Of A Sibling

Rating: ★★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Open Door)

She's rowing for Cambridge. He's rowing for Oxford. But they just can't keep one another at oar's length . . .

Arthur Osbourne-Cloud has his future mapped out for him – graduate Oxford and follow his dreadful father into politics. Except Arthur wants anything but that. He’d rather spend his days rowing for gold at the Olympics,.

And this year he has the Boat Race to win.

Kate Astley also has her future mapped out. Fly half-way across the world, and win a scholarship at Cambridge University to study medicine. Oh, and crew for the legendary Boat Race. Seems simple enough.

But then she meets Arthur.

For Arthur, this feisty American challenges everything he's been taught to believe, while Kate battles between what she's expected to do, and what she wants to do.

The bitter rivalry between their universities ought to destroy them. Or will it just be a matter of time before they surrender to the sizzling chemistry between them?

But In The Boat Race, there can only be one winner. Who will sink and who will swim?

Oar Than Friends is the latest sports romance from author Lulu Moore and the first instalment in her new Oxbridge series. It is the love story between Kate and Oz, two athletes competing for rival university rowing clubs, set against the backdrop of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

I grew up around 30 miles from Cambridge so have followed the boat race for years and it was the perfect backdrop for a rivals to lovers sports romance. If you’re unfamiliar with the Boat Race, it’s a set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club which take place on the River Thames in London and has been an annual event since 1856. Lulu Moore nailed the blend between the story being focused on the romance but also including a good amount of rowing content leading up to race day.

If you’re a sucker for a romance story where he falls first and harder, you’ll absolutely love Arthur Osbourne-Cloud (or ‘Oz’ as he’s known). I very quickly fell in love with Oz’s charm and when he said he had known Kate for “fifty-six hours, and I’d thought about her for every single one” he awarded himself the award for my absolute favourite book boyfriend of 2024 so far. He was a swoon-worthy MMC and his nicknames for Kate and little romantic gestures throughout the story completely stole my heart. Hearing his girlfriend cry on the phone and instantly jumping in the car to drive two hours to see her? Now THAT is what we’re talking about! I was really rooting for Oz and Kate right from their brilliant meet cute scene until the end of the book; they were a brilliant match.

Our story is told through a dual POV narrative and I LOVE this in a romance story. Hearing the MMC’s POV adds something so special to the story, particularly when it’s a ‘he falls first and harder’ story, and this was perfectly illustrated by Oz who spoke about Kate in the sweetest way. Oar Than Friends does also have some fab open-door spicy scenes but these felt really realistic which I loved.

Kate was a brilliant strong FMC and it was great to see her grow in confidence as the novel progressed and begin to really advocate for her own needs and dreams. The loss of her elder brother was well explored, as was Oz’s difficult family dynamic.

Oar Than Friends also has a fantastic cast of supporting characters who brought so much to the story and I’m excited to potentially return to them later in the Oxbridge series.

In Kate and Oz we have an American FMC and a British MMC and I loved this dynamic. It does mean that we see Kate use American terms rather than British ones (e.g. dorm, campus) which could be a bit grating for a British reader but I didn’t really mind it at all.

Humour was woven into the story brilliantly and I particularly loved how British the humour was. Kate and Oz had brilliant banter and we had some fantastic flirty moments in the early stages of their relationship. I also loved the individual chapter titles and they often made me giggle.

Overall, Oar Than Friends is a fantastic rivals to lovers sports romance novel which is packed full of witty banter, charm and loveable characters.

Review: Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy*

Title: Girl Abroad
Author: Elle Kennedy
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Absent Parent, Drugs

Rating: ★★★
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️(Open Door)

When nineteen-year-old Abbey Bly gets the opportunity to study abroad for a year in London, it's the perfect chance to finally slip out from under the thumb of her beloved but overbearing retired rock star father. She's ready to be free, to discover herself - but first off, to meet the girls she's rooming with. That is, until she arrives at her gorgeous new flat to discover those roommates are actually all boys. Charming, funny, insufferably attractive boys. And off-limits, with a rule against fraternizing between housemates after unwanted drama with the previous girl.

Abbey has never considered herself a rulebreaker. But soon, she's lying to her father about her living situation and falling for not one, but two men she can't have: her rugby-player roommate and a broody musician with a girlfriend. Not to mention, her research for school has gotten her tangled in a deeply hidden scandal of a high nobility family, surrounding her in secrets on all sides.

If there's any hope of Abbey finding love, answers, or a future in London, she'll have to decide which rules - and hearts - might be worth breaking . . .

Girl Abroad is the latest romance novel from New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy. Our protagonist Abbey moves to London from Nashville for a year studying abroad, moving into the shared house she thinks she’s sharing with four female roommates who turn out to actually all be attractive guys. Abbey then finds herself in a love triangle with one housemate – despite a strict no flatcest rule – and one of their friends – despite him having a girlfriend.

This was my first time reading anything from the author but based on other reviews it appears this isn’t her usual style. The book largely read as a mature YA story with a few spicy scenes thrown in.

I tend to not actually go for the love-triangle trope but something about this book really intrigued me and the trope did end up working quite well, definitely supported by the focus on all three parties not expecting commitment. I was incredibly conflicted for the majority of the book as to which MMC I wanted Abbey to end up with but (being mindful of avoiding spoilers) she did end up making the right choice in my eyes.

I had a real love/hate relationship with Abbey as a protagonist. I liked the banter she had with her flatmates and particularly her relationship with Mr Baxley the librarian (who, aside from their demon pet cat, was my favourite character) but aside from this she felt like a largely two-dimensional character so it was at times difficult to see why she had half of England falling at her feet. Morally it was quite difficult to get on board with her too as she spent half of the book preaching that she wasn’t the kind of girl to steal another girl’s boyfriend but then went and did it anyway, using the technicality that nothing physical happened between them whilst he was still in a relationship.

It did also feel like all of the male characters were quite two dimensional also and based around stereotypes. Jack was a blonde, tanned, muscular Australian rugby player who spent more time shirtless than not, Jamie was a posh playboy and Nate was a free-sprit motorbike-driving musician. They did start to explore Jack and Nate’s characters on a deeper level as their relationships with Abbey blossomed but I would have liked this to have been developed even further. The character I was most disappointed with was Lee who was portrayed as your stereotypical 00s rom-com gay best friend when he had the potential to be so much more than that, had he been better written.

In terms of spice-level this is probably a low 3 out of 5. There are a couple of open-door spicier scenes which are largely well written, but the majority of potentially good spicy scenes, especially involving Jack, had a fade to black which was a shame. It was disappointing that there wasn’t more of an even split of spicy scenes between the two love interests.

I do, however, want to praise the positive portrayal of female pleasure that we have within one of the scenes between Abbey and Nate, one of the male love interests. During a spicier scene, Nate actually asks Abbey “what do you need to come?”, acknowledging that few women can climax from penetration alone and that most will require another form of stimulation. We love respectful lovers like Nate who prioritise their partners pleasure alongside their own and actually understand how the female body works! This was ruined slightly later in the scene when it felt like Abbey mocked him for saying this but this largely felt like a really important portrayal of female pleasure.

I was disappointed with the fact that it felt like the UK university experience hadn’t been very well researched at all, which feels like a fundamental flaw in a book about someone studying abroad in London. In Girl Abroad, Abbey starts her first semester in August when UK university academic years don’t actually start until at least mid-September. There were also language choices which were incorrect, such as use of ‘spring break’ which isn’t a thing in the UK, we have an Easter break. The idea of university students living in Notting Hill was also borderline ridiculous and implied that the author’s only understanding of British life comes from 90s and 00s British romcoms and the Taylor Swift song London Boy. There seemed to be few other references to British culture – aside from a few pub trips – so it just didn’t feel authentic to British student life which was disappointing and a real missed opportunity.

I did largely like the historical mystery element to the novel – as Abbey tries to uncover the identity of the woman in a mysterious painting she picked up at an estate sale, as part of her studies – and the way it mirrored the love triangle Abbey found herself in but at times it felt like it took away from the romance plot.

Overall, this was a largely enjoyable read it just lacked quite a lot of the substance I was craving. Those who want an easy romance read, especially fans of the love triangle trope, will like this book.

Review: Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones*

*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. This review is being posted as part of the Make You Mine This Christmas blog tour organised by Hodder & Stoughton.

Title: Make You Mine This Christmas
Author: Lizzie Huxley-Jones
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance / Holiday Romance
Trigger warnings: -
Rating: ★★★★

It's the golden rule of pretending to be someone's girlfriend: don't fall for their sister.

After a year from hell, Haf is ready to blow off steam at a Christmas party: a kind stranger, a few too many drinks and suddenly she's kissing Christopher under the mistletoe - in front of his ex-girlfriend.

The next day the news is out that they're apparently a couple, madly in love and coming to Oxlea to spend the festive season with Christopher's family. But Haf doesn't have better holiday plans and to save her new friend from embarrassment, she agrees to pretend to be Christopher's girlfriend for Christmas.

It has the makings of a hilarious anecdote they'll be telling for years. Until Haf meets Christopher's sister: the mysterious, magnetic and utterly irresistible Kit. Maybe love was waiting for Haf in this quiet little town all along ...

Make You Mine This Christmas is the latest heartwarming novel from author Lizzie Huxley-Jones and the must-read queer rom-com of this festive season.

The plot is packed full of all of your favourite romance tropes set against the backdrop of a snowy UK Christmas. Although a fake dating plot is at the forefront of the story, we also have a fantastic queer meet cute in a bookshop and the forbidden love trope is explored through Haf’s attraction to her fake boyfriend’s sister Kit. Lizzie Huxley-Jones has a really engaging writing style which you can just sink into like a big hug and I read the entire book in one sitting. I just couldn’t get enough!

I loved how much representation we had within the story and this is really something which I think sets Make You Mine This Christmas apart from other books. This includes neurodivergent, disability and chronic pain rep, a curvy and body-positive FMC and a range of LGBTQIA+ representation including characters who were non-binary, bisexual and lesbian.

This book is perfect if you want a really Christmas-heavy read packed full of festive cheer to cosy up with this holiday season. It really gave off Hallmark-movie vibes with everything from questionable Christmas jumpers and handmade decorations to kisses under the mistletoe and a cosy community Christmas fair with real (albeit unpredictable) reindeer.

One of the things which stood out within the story was how loveable and relatable all of the characters were. Haf was a truly fantastic protagonist and, as someone who was diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, I loved that she was written as an autistic character whose autism had been missed but probably explained a lot of the aspects of her character. This representation is so important and really made me feel seen so I want to thank Lizzie Huxley-Jones for including this in the story. Haf’s fake-boyfriend Christopher was a total sweetheart and, whilst being mindful of avoiding spoilers where possible, I loved the journey his character went on towards starting to advocate more for his wants and dreams rather than feeling like he has to confirm to the expectations set of him. I honestly don’t know where to begin with talking about how much I loved Kit’s character. I fell in love with her the minute we met her in the bookshop and this love only grew the more we got to know her. Her relationship with her brother felt like a really authentic sibling relationship and, as I’ve already said, I thought her disability and linked chronic pain were really well portrayed and some of the best disabled representation I’ve seen in any book. The romantic and sexual tension between Haf and Kit was well-written, as were the (spoiler alert) romantic and spicier scenes when we got to them. If anything, one thing I would have liked in way of improving the narrative was if we’d had even more stolen romantic moments between Haf and Kit to build up their romance gradually. Although it’s a slow burn prior to their first kiss, after that it feels like we go from 0-100 and I would have liked a few more stolen kisses here and there to increase the tension even further by the time we get to the spicier moments.

We also have a fantastic cast of supporting characters and I loved every single one of them, from Laurel the fake boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend to the queer meet-cute obsessed bookseller and the ever-present Bryn. Ambrose, Haf’s flatmate and best friend, had to be my favourite though and they made me laugh out loud almost every chapter with their witty remarks and hilarious use of twitter polls. I loved that although Ambrose was non-binary, they weren’t defined by their gender identity and aside from use of they/them pronouns throughout the narrative, their gender identity was only referenced briefly and the focus was more on their other character traits.

Overall, Make You Mine This Christmas is a charming festive sapphic romance packed full of Christmas spirit, witty characters, laugh-out-loud moments, cute romantic scenes and truly incredible disabled and LGBTQIA+ representation. It’s a must-read this Christmas.

Review: The Locket by Natalie Meg Evans*

Title: The Locket
Author: Natalie Meg Evans
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: Sexual Assault, Rape, Physical Assault, Child Abuse, Racism, Miscarriage, War, Psychiatric Hospital, Postnatal Depression

Rating: ★★★★

England, 1942. 'It has to stay secret,' he whispers, placing the locket around her neck. 'If they find it, they’ll send me away.' As she holds the locket, glinting in the moonlight, she can’t hold back the tears. 'I just wish we didn’t have to hide…'

When farmer’s daughter Irene meets Theodore at a village dance, sparks fly instantly. The war has brought him all the way from Louisiana to build a US airbase just across her father’s fields, but as they sway together, there is nothing else in the world. Only his gentle touch and his deep brown eyes.

But being together comes at a price. As Theodore is Black, the might of the US Air Force is against them, and all the members of the little village community disapprove of their relationship. And they will all go to terrible lengths to tear the two young lovers apart...

Decades later, heartbroken Ruby is back at her family’s crumbling farmhouse for the first time in years, after the loss of her beloved grandmother Irene. The roof has fallen in, family photographs are damaged – and her grandmother’s jewellery is nowhere to be found.

When Ruby uncovers her grandmother’s waterlogged diaries, she discovers that Irene treasured one piece of lost jewellery above all. A locket from a man called Theodore. And the missing locket holds the key to unravelling a heartbreaking secret that changed her grandmother’s life…

Is someone in the village hiding the locket to keep the truth about Irene and Theodore buried? And can Ruby find a way to honour her grandmother’s memory – or in digging up the pain of the war, will she tear her family apart?

The Locket is a breathtaking, compelling new historical fiction novel from author Natalie Meg Evans. Set against the backdrop of rural Suffolk during the Second World War, it is the story of a forbidden romance between Irene, a young local white woman, and Theo a black US Air Force airman based locally. The story is told through a dual-timeline narrative, moving between Irene’s story in the 1940s and her granddaughter Ruby’s story in 2022/23 as she moves into her late grandmother’s home and reads her wartime diaries for the first time. The book perfectly combines the story of this forbidden romance with a mystery fuelled by family secrets and I was hooked from the very first page.

Natalie Meg Evans has a magical storytelling ability which makes you feel like you are right there in the 1940s. As someone who was born and raised in East Anglia, I really enjoyed the small touch of including Suffolk dialect as it really helped the setting to further come alive on the page. I did find the story to feel slightly slow and drawn out at times but the pace quickly picked up again.

Both Irene and Ruby were beautifully written protagonists with such depth to their characters. I also thought Philippa was a fantastically written and very complex character through whom the long-lasting impact of child-abuse was shown. Theo was another fantastic character whose charm had me immediately falling in love with him and it was heartbreaking to see the disgusting treatment he experienced simply due to the colour of his skin.

As the story focuses around racism and particularly the prejudice experienced by the black members of the US military based in the UK during the war, it is incredibly hard-hitting but equally such an important read. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that prior to reading The Locket I was ashamedly ignorant to the racial segregation that existed for the US troops based in the UK but Theo’s story has really opened my eyes and encouraged me to educate myself further on such an important topic.

Overall, The Locket is a powerful and incredibly gripping piece of historical fiction which is both heart-breaking and heart-warming.

Review: A Mother's War by Helen Parusel*

Title: A Mother's War
Author: Helen Parusel
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Sexual Harassment, Suicide Attempt

Rating: ★★★★★

A forbidden romance in occupied Norway…

Narvik, 1940. After Laila awakens to the sight of warships in the fjord, it isn't long before she turns resistor to the brutal Nazi regime. She is horrified when local girls begin affairs with enemy soldiers, yet against her own principles, she finds herself falling in love with German soldier, Josef.

Josef is not like the others. He becomes involved in helping her and the locals with resistance activities, risking his life on more than one occasion.

But then Laila finds out she is pregnant. With Josef sent to the Russian front, and Laila cast out by her family, she turns to a home for women which promises to care for her and her unborn child. But instead, she finds herself caught in a system of evil far beyond what she thought possible…

A Mother’s War is the debut historical fiction work from author Helen Parusel. It is a forbidden romance set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Norway and focusing on the experiences of Norwegian women within the Nazi Lebensborn homes.

Helen Parusel has a wonderfully engaging writing style which truly made the setting of northern Norway truly come alive on the page. I was completely enthralled by the story and read it in a single sitting over the course of an evening. The narrative is well-paced and full of action, from vivid descriptions of the Nazi invasion of Norway to the experiences of women in the Lebensborn homes to the work of the resistance in helping people escape out of Nazi-occupied territory.

The story was clearly impeccably researched, particularly surrounding the history of the Lebensborn program which is a dark and little-known aspect of Second World War history that I’m glad is being covered within historical fiction.

Laila is a wonderful protagonist with such depth to her character. Her strength and courageous nature was fantastically written and it was so easy to become completely emotionally invested in her story. Seeing her completely ostracised by her family and community was heartbreaking but a painful reality for many women in Nazi-occupied countries. Josef was another fantastically written character and I really enjoyed seeing their relationship develop over the course of the story.

Overall, A Mother’s War is a standout debut historical fiction novel and I look forward to seeing what Helen Parusel brings to the literary world next. I did find myself craving more when the book finished so would welcome the opportunity to return to Laila and Josef’s story again in a possible sequel.

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