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: Kindling by Bonnie Woods*

*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: Kindling
Author: Bonnie Woods
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings:  References To Parental Abandonment, References To Domestic Abuse, Absent Parent

Rating: ★★★★★

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

Sparks will fly, even without firewood… 🍂🍁🍂

A cosy autumnal retreat in the Scottish Highlands is the perfect escape for city girl, Harper… Until she is stranded in the forest with nowhere to stay.

Fraser, a gruff local woodcutter, reluctantly offers her his lumberjack’s cabin on one condition – she mustn’t distract him from his duties.

But Fraser is finding his beautiful guest annoyingly hard to ignore. And the way he chops firewood – dogged, powerful and precise – is distracting Harper too. Soon, as the flame-red leaves fall overhead, Harper and Fraser are both forced to wonder: Am I falling faster?

Kindling is a new autumnal romance from author Bonnie Woods. This is a cosy yet spicy grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity romance set against the backdrop of the beautiful rural Scottish highlands in all of their autumnal beauty. It’s the only book you need to read over the autumn months and will most definitely leave you feeling all fuzzy inside and desperate to book an autumnal getaway to Scotland.

I utterly adored this book and it’s one of my standout reads of all time, let alone just this year. The Scottish Highlands was the most perfect setting for this autumnal romance. The narrative was perfectly paced and I flew through the book as I simply couldn’t put it down.

Harper was a brilliant FMC who felt relatable. I absolutely loved the portrayal of Harper as a curvy FMC, particularly with the way that Fraser adored her curves. The way she is described in his POV was EVERYTHING. And the moment where he kisses her stretch marks? PERFECT.

Fraser is our ruggedly handsome MMC who is a definite contender for 2024’s book boyfriend of the year. Seriously, if you looked up the phrase swoon-worthy in a dictionary, you’d find a giant picture of Fraser. It’s almost like Bonnie Woods has seen how many lumberjack videos I’ve liked on TikTok!

Harper and Fraser had electric chemistry and really brought out the best in each other. Their flirting had me practically kicking my feet and giggling away and the way they pined for each other was EVERYTHING. This was also one of my favourite portrayals of the grumpy x sunshine trope I’ve ever read. Harper and Fraser were the definition of opposites attract: Harper is bubbly and truly sunshine personified whilst Fraser is brooding and mysterious, it worked beautifully. There was lots of spice and it was both fantastically written and fantastically placed throughout the narrative.

One of my favourite things about this book is how inclusive it is; there is just so much fabulous queer representation. There’s particularly amazing bisexual rep as our female protagonist Harper is bi. I loved the exploration of societal attitudes towards bisexuality, it’s such an important topic which was really well written. We also have brilliant lesbian and non-binary rep through some of the supporting characters and autism rep through Fraser’s nephew Sky.

Overall, Kindling is the only book you need to read over the autumn months. It’s one of my standout reads of 2024 and I can’t wait to see what comes next from Bonnie Woods.

Review: When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein*

  *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 Grumpy Met Sunshine
Author: Charlotte Stein
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings:  Parental Abuse, Childhood Poverty, Parental Alcoholism, Fatphobia

Rating: ★★★★ 

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

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Finding love was not the only goal . . .

When grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he’s never going to be able to write them. He hates revealing a single thing about himself, is allergic to most emotions, and can't imagine doing a good job of putting pen to paper.

And so in walks curvy, cheery, cute-as-hell ghostwriter Mabel Willicker, who knows just how to sunshine and sass her way into getting every little detail out of Alfie. They banter and bicker their way to writing his life story, both of them sure they’ll never be anything other than at odds.

But after their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, the pair have to pretend to be an item to satisfy a public ravenous for more of this Cinderella story. And now they have to decide: is their fake relationship all for show or something so real it might just give them their fairy-tale ending?

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is the latest novel from romance author Charlotte Stein and the (you guessed it!) grumpy x sunshine romance between grumpy retired footballer Alfie Harding and his sunshine-personified memoir ghostwriter Mabel Willicker.

This book is packed full of all of your favourite romance tropes. Our grumpy x sunshine pair end up in a fake-dating scenario after Mabel is caught by the paparazzi leaving Alfie’s house and this was really well executed. If you like the ‘Hates Everyone But You’ and ‘Touch Her and You Die’ tropes you will LOVE Alfie Harding as a swoon-worthy MMC who was fiercely protective over Mabel, even when they were ‘just friends’. BookTok is going to absolutely love this pair!

The narrative is packed full of witty-banter between Mabel and Alfie which had me laughing out loud. It did take me the first five chapters or so to settle into the story and get used to how fast paced the story was, particularly during conversations between Mabel and Alfie, but once I was there I was HOOKED.

This is a slow-burn romance but boy is it worth the wait. If you like a spicy romance with lots of sexual tension and great dirty talk, this is the book for you. I’d rate this as a 4 out of 5 on the spice scale as there are multiple open-door intimate scenes (and in a variety of locations – car and kitchen counter included!).

Mabel and Alfie were brilliant protagonists and their relationship felt really genuine, which is not always the case with celebrity romances. I love plus-size representation within romance books and Mabel was an absolute queen who was unapologetically her sunshine self. Alfie was a really complex character who I fell completely in love with. The chapters are interspersed with extracts from articles, social media posts and press interviews which add further detail to both our present-day story and Alfie’s backstory. It was really interesting to see how Alfie’s famous footballer public persona differed to his true self and this was well written. The shared childhood trauma Alfie and Mabel have was also well and respectfully written.

This book does have a HEA despite a third act breakup. I’m never a massive fan of third act breakups, especially ones linked to miscommunication, but it resolved itself well with a grand gesture that melted my heart.

Overall, When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a gorgeous romance read, perfect for reading around Valentines Day. I’ve been absolutely hooked on Charlotte Stein’s writing and can’t wait to read more of her books.