[71] The Nanny by Lana Ferguson
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, Kindle

Synopsis: Cassie can’t afford to pay rent or for schooling since she quit doing OnlyFans. She sees an opening for a nanny position that seems too good to be true – it provides a place to live and great pay. She gets the job and loves the kid and is attracted to the (single) father and tries to keep it professional, but that goes awry (obviously) and then she figures out he was her #1 OnlyFan – the one she thought she had a connection with but never showed up when they planned to meet.

Review: Gosh, it feels odd to say this, but this book was mostly sex with not a lot of substance and I was not super there for it! Weird, because lately I’ve been annoyed with closed door books and this one was the complete opposite. I guess I’m having a Goldilocks moment. They kept mentioning Cassie’s tough past with parents who didn’t want her but never really got into it, and it was weird to use that to help her connect with the daughter (who is said her dad works so many hours as a chef) but not really explain more about it. I wanted more character development.

Recommend? No

[72] Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand
Fiction Women, book 2 after Winter Street, audiobook

Synopsis: Book 2 in this series picks up just under a year after the first book ended – in the first weekend of December when Nantucket has its Winter Stroll – a festive open house of businesses and homes and a ball. The Quinn family is back with more drama.

Review: I enjoyed this as much as the first book. It was entertaining and short, and every storyline kept me engaged! I’d say more, but don’t want to give the storyline away.

Recommend? Yes

[73] Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, wanted to read because I’ve liked past Tessa Bailey and this was new and seemingly holiday themed, Kindle

Synopsis: Beat and Melody’s mothers were a famous rock duo called Steel Birds back in the day but had nasty breakup and haven’t spoken in 30 years. Beat and Melody met once, when they were both 14, for a feature on the band, but were otherwise separated by living on different coasts and by their mothers hating one another. When a network approaches Beat about doing a reality show to reunite the band he initially says no, but comes around to the idea because he’s being blackmailed and needs the money the network will give him to pay his blackmailer. He gets Melody on board and and the feelings they had for one another at their brief meeting at age 14 (they’re now 30) resurfaces.

Review: What a disappointment. I thought I really liked Tessa Bailey because of It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, and Sinker but this story was weak and ridiculous. And not Christmassy, which bothered a lot of people on Good Reads, ha ha. I didn’t mind the ridiculousness of a filming set following them around – that may have been the only interesting part of the story. It was mostly that Beat and Melody felt they had any connection at all beyond their mothers, and how Beat punished himself for his privilege. And gah, what a lame ending.

Recommend? No