The Wedding Crasher By: Mia Sosa

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️/5

🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

The Wedding Crasher is the follow up book to The Worst Best Man (love love loves), and Dean, Max’s best friend, is getting married. Or so he thinks.

Dean was one of my favorite characters from the previous book so I was super excited that he was getting his own story line. Enter Solange, one of Lina’s cousins. She’s roped into helping out on Ethan’s big day, and inadvertently ends up interfering. So much so that she stops the wedding.

But, as fate would have it, Solange and Ethan both find themselves in need of a significant other. Ethan to woo a new partner at his work, Solange to cover for a fib her mom told to a snooty relative.

They’re contending with way too many people who can screw everything up. There’s Peter, a snarky sneaky brown noser from Ethan’s job, who is determined to catch them in a lie. I have to admit, without any spoilers that I was pleasantly surprised how that loop was closed. But if I’m keeping a list of book characters I want to throat punch, he’s on it. Then there’s all the various aunts and cousins who can’t lie to save a life.

(*side note, I just started a list of fictional characters I hate. I have a feeling it’s going to be large)

This book hits some of my favorite romance tropes- fake lovers, enemies to lovers, family interference, food and cultural influence.

This book is delightfully funny, steamy hot, and left me a little hungry and looking for a place that sells some Brazilian food. And not just the meat. I’m going to need some of that stuffed breakfast bread and Pao de Queijo ASAP.

And don’t be fooled by the tame cover, be still my heart this book was smokin. But the heat didn’t interfere with the overall story, and this was a slow burn for sure. A rom-com done really really well.

A special thank you to the author @miasosaromance @netgalley and the publishers @avonbooks and @harpervoyagerus for the advanced copy of this ebook!

The Recovery Agent: By Janet Evanovich

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

JE is one of my all time favorite authors, and Stephanie Plum is one of my favorite characters. Her other series, also phenomenal. So when I got the chance to read an early copy of the first book of her new series, I will admit, I did a fan girl dance around my living room.

This series reacquaints us with Gabriella Rose, who we met in another book already. It also introduces her ex husband Rafer, assistant Marcella, and a wonderful supporting cast of characters. It takes us on a river rapid ride through jungles and cities alike. A quick, funny and satisfying read, I cannot wait to read more from this series.

I will note, it’s hard not to make comparisons. Maybe because we first met Gabs in a Stephanie Plum book, but she’s the exact opposite of Steph. Literally, on every sense of the word. The same can be said for Rafer (still bad ass) but so much more laid back than Ranger, and for Marcella, who seems to be everything Lula is not (competent, organized, dependable). Both women manage to step in 💩 frequently, but luckily Gabs has bullets in her gun and knows how to use it!

Thank you to the author @janetevanovich @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced copy of this book!

Darynda Jones: A Bad Day For Sunshine

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Rundown: Sunshine Vicram is duped by her meddling parents into becoming the sheriff of her small hometown. Her first day on the job is a doozy and leads to revelations about her abduction 15 years ago.

Written by Darynda Jones, Published April 2020

Oh my gawd, stop what you’re reading right this minute, and go order this book. I’m not kidding. So Oh my gawd, stop what you’re reading right this minute, and go order this book. I’m not kidding. So I’ve had Darynda Jones’ other series on my tbr list for, well, forever. Then I got an ARC copy of the 2nd book in her new series, so of course, I had to go back and read the first one before I read that one. Did that make sense? I hope so.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of Stephanie Plum, you’re going to poop your pants over Sunshine Blaze Vicram. Sunshine and her daughter Auri have just moved back to Sun’s hometown of Del Sol, New Mexico after her parent’s somehow managed to get her elected as the new town Sheriff. Even though she left Del Sol in the rearview mirror years ago. Lucky for her, her best friend Quincy is a Sheriff’s Deputy, so it’s old friends back together again.

Her first day on the job brings a missing teenager who has been predicting her death and abduction since she was six. Sybil St. Aubin had made friends with Sunshine’s daughter, Auri, that summer at the lake, and has left behind a series of clues that don’t seem to add up.
The day also brings Little Miss Sunshine straight back into the orbit of the only man she’s ever loved. The boy she fell in love with as a teen, and the man she could never forget, Levi Ravinder. Levi has taken his family’s “corn whiskey” aka, moonshine, business legit and is doing well for himself. But he seems to have no use for our heroine, although as long lost memories come back, he seems to be at the center of Sun’s abduction and the aftermath. Oh, and a stolen rooster named Puff Daddy, whose owner seems to be causing more problems than necessary. And there are magic muffins that predict a really bad day.

Things don’t get much better when Levi’s nephew Jimmy goes missing as well. Jimmy happens to be the son of Sunshine’s arch nemesis Hailey. Sun is hopeful that the kids are together and it’s all some sort of misunderstanding. With Levi’s tracking skills, it becomes apparent that Jimmy isn’t with Sybil, however, they do make a shocking discovery on the snowy mountain (did you know it snowed in New Mexico?) that brings Sun’s kidnapping back into the forefront.

This book has an amazing cast of characters from Sunshine’s conniving parents, to her crackerjack police team to the Ravinder clan (who may or may not be all that bad), and the various odd inhabitants of Del Sol.

So, that probably wasn’t the most concise summary of a book. The bottom line, I couldn’t put this book down. If you’re looking for a tough, funny, independent, kick-ass heroine, this book is for you. It’s full of wit and sarcasm and made me laugh out loud. Of note: I listened to the audio version, and it is hard not to compare it to the Stephanie Plum series, especially because it’s the same narrator. But I’ll refrain from doing so since I’m desperately holding out hope that by book 28 (I think?) my girl Steph will finally learn to put some bullets in her gun. But I digress.

I can only hope that this series continues because I can’t get enough Sunshine. Stay tuned for my review on A Good Day For Chardonnay, the 2nd book in the Sunshine Vicram series.

This audiobook was listened to on the Scribd app.