[67] The Love of my Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, saw reviewed by my friend Kasti on FB, Audio

Synopsis: After dying in a humiliating way—choking on a microwave burger—Delphie finds herself in the afterlife wearing a cringy nightie and face-to-face with the hottest guy she’s ever seen. Just as sparks fly, he’s suddenly yanked back to earth due to a cosmic mix-up. Given a chance to return and find him, Delphie jumps at the opportunity, hoping for love and a new beginning. Unfortunately, her search ends up requiring help from the one person she’d rather avoid entirely—her infuriating neighbor.

Review: The cute and clever premise of this book was promising. I appreciated the attempt to have a “tie it all together” twist at the end, even though it was hella predictable. And I loved that it became a deeper commentary on connection and loneliness. But… it all fell flat for me. I didn’t care for Delphie chasing this guy around, or how obvious the rest of the plot was.

Recommend: No

[68] Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold
Reverse Harem Romance, re-read for WWM Book Club, Kindle

Synopsis (Copied from last time I read it): Layla is in her late 20s and has never had a boyfriend. The last guy she went on a date with climbed out of a bathroom window just to get away from her! Her three male best friends, who rent the apartment across from her and host a relationship advice podcast, offer to help her out by “fake” dating her, and featuring it as a segment on their podcast to boost their ratings and advertise for her lingerie company (of course she designs lingerie).

Review: I re-read this because it was the book for my gym’s book club on Friday. I think that’s the first time I’ve re-read a book in 9 years! Anyway, this is still not a very good story, and just a vehicle to get from multiple-partner sex scene to multiple-partner sex scene (with sadly, most of that dying down by the end of the book to focus on the “story”). It was really fun to discuss in person at book club though! We even did a fun little themed gift exchange.

Recommend? No

[69] Out on a Limb (Out #1) by Hannah Bonam-Young
Fiction / Romance / New Adult, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, Audio

Synopsis: Win has always prided herself on her independence, never letting her limb difference slow her down. But after a one-night stand with charming stranger Bo leads to an unexpected surprise (pregnancy!), Win must confront whether she can still do everything on her own—or if it’s okay to accept help. As she and Bo agree to be just friends, feelings grow and plans begin to shift in unexpected ways.

Review: Okay, this was really cute, and the characters are so likeable. This book does what a lot of romances I’ve read lately do not—actually show the characters falling in love. They obviously liked each other enough to sleep together, but we get to see them learning about each other, and sharing their lives with each other, and totally hitting it off. It was a smiley, feel-good read! And I liked the secondary characters enough to start book #2 in the series!

Recommend? Yeah!