there’s just something special about a romance that takes place in a small town. they have a specific charm, specific cozy feel and i decided to ride that train and see if they hold up.

Fake Identity at Stake by Lisa Renee

3 stars

This book has me in two minds.
One hand, it had good characters and their romance was pretty good on the whole. But this was a Romance book with a crime subplot. Normally, you have a Crime book with a romance subplot, and that works really well. This didn’t. The crime/witsec elements weren’t woven into the story easily, and when it was brought up it either felt shallow, or rushed. I know it was the subplot, but really I didn’t think it worked as one.
I would have LOVED if this story had been fleshed out More, and the witsec and crime side of the story developed a bit. I also think the ending was really rushed as well – it felt disjointed with the rest of the story.
I really did like Lisa Renee’s writing and overall characters, and the plot idea was awesome. Just a few hiccups for a crime reader to overcome.

Cupcakes and Crumbs by Melissa McClone

DNF

I made it 3 chapters before I knew this one wasn’t for me. 
Grief front and centre, drama, a toxic/abusive relationship, just none of it was calling my name. 
Not the type of story I enjoy so it was safer to just put it aside.

 

Finding my Destynee by Natalie Bright, Denise F. McAllister

2 stars

This had elements that could have been good if the main characters weren’t so insufferable.
What kind of grown ass woman lets her mother run her life and take away her phone, not tell her how much money she’s making or even where they are going and what shows they booked until the last minute, chose her outfits and not say a single damn word? None that I know. Intellectually I can understand if you’ve lived under someone your whole life, it would be difficult to break out of that – but she’s married with a kid! And nobody is saying nothin? Heck no! It made no sense.
I was excited for the singer on the road aspect, interested to see how that would affect a husband and child left behind, but Travis seemed like a spineless whiner, and Destynee was a personality-less blob.
I don’t know why we had a Christmas countdown when the story had basically nothing to do with it.
The ranch sections, personally I found to be quite boring.
The story is about two people in a marriage but there’s zero romance in here, and they spend the whole book apart. There was so much about this book that either didn’t make sense or didn’t seem to fit.

Diving into Love by Kat Bellemore

3.5 stars
I liked it. Short, sweet and cute.
Small town and romance that was a little Insta love ish but I didn’t really mind too much.
Most of the writing was nice, but there were a few lines or moments here and there that fell a little flat.
I actually wished it could have been a little longer but it didn’t feel too short and the pace was really good.

With You in Wild Orchards by Rania Battany

3.5 stars

Cute small town feels all the way through. The story was fuelled by grief, finding who you really are, what your passion is and love.
The romance was good. I enjoyed the characters and how they came together. The “third act conflict” really almost came at the end of the book, which meant resolution was quick. I didn’t mind that though, mature and reasonable adults could easily resolve things the way we see happen in a quicker resolution, and I think this one was written quite well.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner

4.5 stars

Enemies to lovers, a mountain small town, broadcast journalists and some amazing banter… yeah this one had it all and more.

The laugh out loud one liners that always accompany Bethany’s books were on point, with two characters that were like oil and water… sort of. Biting back and forth in a hilarious exchange (particularly Sebastian’s side) we followed their relationship from first first exchange to last. From Brynn’s attempt to gain back the trust of a whole nation from a live television slip up, to Seb’s mysterious past and current responsibilities, these two and the people around them were a great combination.

While Sebastian was my favourite of the two characters – having just a bit more likability than Bryn – I enjoyed the development of all. The plot moves smoothly and we got a lovely ending to boot!

Brynn and Sebastian May hate each other, but I loved them 🙂

Magpie’s Bend by Maya Linnell

3.5 stars
Boy, this certainly was an Aussie book. No hiding, no apologising, no shying away for other audiences – just Australia all the way around. Rural Australia mind you. Not a bad thing, but it was a little distracting at times. Like the references were thrown in for the sake of it.
Having said that, It was still engaging and interesting. I liked the element of saving the store in a little town, writing for a small town newspaper and family dynamics with romance thrown in.
This is my second book by Maya and I liked this one better. It had an overarching plot but also focussed on small town rural feels.

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Those were just a few small town romances, but something I learned reading them is that if there isn’t a strong hook, amazing characters, or something exciting to keep me interested, on the whole, it doesn’t seem to be a genre that I seek out to read much.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace