I’m starting off your 2024 with some fabulous romance read recommendations. We’ve got series starters, standalones, and sequels. Everything! Keep reading this blog post of mini reviews of Red String Theory, Only When It’s Us, Ever After Always and Cruel Seduction.
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Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen
Just a date . . . or a twist of fate?
When it comes to love and art, Rooney Gao believes in signs. Most of all, she believes in the Chinese legend that everyone is tied to their one true love by the red string of fate. And that belief has inspired her career as an artist, as well as the large art installations she makes with ( obviously ) red string. That is until artist’s block strikes and Rooney begins to question everything. But then fate leads her to the perfect guy . . .
Jack Liu is perfect. He’s absurdly smart, successful, handsome, and after one enchanting New York night—under icy February skies and fueled by fried dumplings—all signs point to destiny. Only Jack doesn’t believe. And after their magical date, it looks like they might be lost to each other forever . . . until they’re given one more chance to reconnect. But can Rooney convince a reluctant skeptic to take a leap of fate?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
If you love books that examine fate – just go pre-order Red String Theory right now. Skeptic meets believer in this opposites attract stand alone romance. I loved the ways in which Red String Theory felt like a book, characters, being pulled together with forces. I was invested so quickly into the characters, into the idea of fate, and choice. Red String Theory proves the symbiosis between fate and choice. Between the idea that some things that come into our lives, that keep popping off, are glances of fate. But that it doesn’t rob us of our choices.
We witness the ways Rooney and Jack are like atoms colliding. There’s something that draws them together, a clock timing their eclipses. Being dual POV allows us to see the interactions of fate and choice. We can see Jack’s skepticism and Rooney’s openness, but at the end of the day only they can figure out if they can be together. Lauren Kung Jessen’s sophomore release has to be my favorite – there are also first book Easter eggs here – because I’m a sucker for someone who believes in fate to meet a skeptic. I couldn’t stop reading this one. It kept me coming back for more as a heartfelt story about our choices and love.
Find Red String Theory on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese
From the moment Willa sat next to Ryder in class, she’s made it clear she hates his guts. Her reason is a mystery, but its outcome suits him fine. Willa Sutter is the feisty, tempting chaos he doesn’t need in his quiet, tidy life. She’s the next generation of women’s soccer. Wild hair. Bee-stung lips. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly. He’ll leverage her hate as long as possible to keep his distance.
When Willa asked Ryder to borrow his lecture notes, the silent, surly, mountain man ignored her. Ryder Bergman is an arrogant, infuriating flannel-wearing enigma. Mangy beard. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge her existence. But Willa’s never backed down from a challenge.
Forced to work together on their final project, Willa and Ryder begin a game of pranks and practical jokes, each determined to come out the champion. But once they catch unexpected feelings, victory begins to mean something else—winning each other’s hearts.
Review
Okay so I know I’m really late on the Bergman Brother’s series, but I’m fully on board now. Ever since reading Always Only You I’ve been on a Bergman Brother train. Willa and Ryder are the epitome of that couple who likes to prank each other with varying success and also have to realize that we can run from the very thing that would make us happy. That dreams can change. If you love characters who have to break down their misconceptions and stare what scares them in the eyes, this is for you.
Liese is an expert at character chemistry and I adored their interactions, dual POV, and the ways we don’t know how to tell someone, instead show someone. How we can be so isolated in our own pain and suffering even when we aren’t alone. All the ways we push someone away in fear. The pride we hold dear. Only When It’s Us is for everyone scared to open up our heart, to be vulnerable. Find Only When It’s Us on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
Ever After Always by Chloe Liese
Freya Bergman has spent a dozen years loving Aiden and never thought they’d find their marriage on the rocks. He’s her partner and best friend, the person she knows she can count on most. Until one day Freya realizes the man she married is nowhere to be found. Now Aiden is quiet and withdrawn, and as the months wear on, the growing distance between them becomes too much to bear.
Aiden would spend a dozen lifetimes making his wife happy. But the one thing that will make her happiest is the one thing he’s not sure he can give a baby. With the pressure of providing and planning for a family, his anxiety is at an all-time high. They’re drifting apart and he doesn’t know how to change the tide.
As if weathering marriage counseling wasn’t enough, Freya and Aiden are thrown together for a Bergman family island getaway. Will this trip help them finally work through their trouble in paradise, or be the final wave that tows them under?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Ever After Always was like being called out. This has to be my favorite of the series. Maybe it’s because marriage in crisis and second chance romances are just always my favorite. Or the fact that Aiden and Freya have so many memories, a deep connection, and history. I also love stories about relationships and the ways they change. How it’s important to realize that our partners will change, our love will change, and if we don’t change or adapt, it’s doomed.
We have to continue to romance, to get to know someone, and as soon as we drop that momentum entirely it can be difficult to figure out how to get it back. Ever After Always explores what happens after the happy ever after. The real work at staying together. The communication that has to happen when it’s hard. We have to run to what terrifies us, especially together, to know that’s the only way we get through anything, grow together. That communication is key.
So often we can think we are doing the right thing to protect someone. Whether it be to keep secrets or to try to take on burdens silently to have a partner is to be in a partnership. This one resonated deeply with me as both Freya and Aiden realize it’s not only their relationship they have to get back to, but also themselves. Find Ever After Always on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert
He was my enemy. My lover. My husband.
And the one man I swore by all Olympus I would destroy.
Aphrodite has never flinched at getting her perfectly manicured hands dirty, and she’s not about to start now—even if that means marrying Olympus’s enemy number one, the new Hephaestus. She has a wicked plan to keep her deadly new husband off-balance, seducing the one person he seems to care about most in this world: Pandora, a woman as beautiful as she is sweet.
Two can play the seduction game, however, and Hephaestus is all too happy to put his new wife in her place. Her ex, Adonis, seems like he’ll do the trick. It doesn’t hurt that he’s gorgeous in the way of fallen angels, either.
The only problem with using seduction as a weapon? Hearts are all too quick to get involved. With Hephaestus and Aphrodite trading venomous strikes that feel a whole lot like foreplay, lines become blurred and emotions entangled. But a broken heart may be the least of their worries. With unrest in Olympus reaching new heights, these bedroom games may have deadly consequences for themselves, their city, and everyone they’ve come to love.
Review
Alright, this one is going to be a doozy. Let’s just say that I had a roller coaster relationship with this one. This has been my favorite of the books for a while mostly because around the Wicked Beauty time period, we switched from the mythology sphere and it became a bit looser – which was fine, it just took me a while to get into it. What I think I appreciated about Cruel Seduction is that it’s the closest tied to where we left off in Wicked Beauty and to the new story line Robert has introduced with the outsiders in Olympus.
So broad plotwise, this worked for me. It didn’t really make me think of any myths from the Pantheon – which used to be what I really enjoyed about the series – but I’ve just come to accept it’s Olympus inspired, but not re-telling aspect. Now let’s get to the characters. While this has four different POVs, I think Theseus and Eris were the ones that were the strongest – which doesn’t surprise me since they have the most history. Each of them have existed before this book and therefore they have a bit more weight to them. Additionally, the main bulk of the story feels like their story, their lives, with Pandora and Adonis as side characters.
But?
Because of that, they felt a bit shallow-y developed in contrast and more as side characters. I liked reading their POVs it just left me feeling a bit hollow as I was expecting to get into their own lives a bit more than we did. Lastly, the ending felt pretty hasty considering the lead up to this “will-they-won’t-they” in terms of their rival families and forces. Overall it’s a fun read and as I said earlier, one of my favorite ones recently, but it was a bit of an up and down experience.
Find Cruel Seduction on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.