Maryse's Book Blog

Following my heart, one book at a time...

friends to lovers

Reader Recommendations – Friends to lovers romance books

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Many requests for this list and oh boy do we have recommendations!!!

Nothing better than that slow burn. That… true-to-life angst and pining, OR surprise realization, that you have fallen deeply in love with the love of your life. And he just happens to be your very best friend.

Tracie: I just finished “Bad at Love: A Standalone Friends-to-Lovers Romance” by Karina Halle and would love to know if you have a list of other books or recommendations of books where they start as “just friends” first?? read more

Book Review – Devastated by R.L. Mathewson

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Devastated (Anger Management Book 1) <— P.S. It’s going live in just a couple of days – 10-25-19!!!

When R.L. Mathewson sent me an early review copy of her latest release “Devastated” she included a warning. Just as the moody cover (and title) portray, she told me this one was somewhat darker (or more serious in nature) than her amazing comedy romances that we’ve gone so crazy for in the past.

So, I was fretting. Why? ‘Cause her love stories are totally my kind of “comedy romance”. Witty and gleeful and believable. She (er… I mean… her characters) are absolutely hilarious. From their quick-witted remarks and thought processes, to some of their not-so-smart fumbles and mistakes (that end up being amusing anyway), her books have me grinning, laughing and exhilarated. read more

R.L. Mathewson – Anger Management Series Reading Order

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 <— NEW SERIES BY R.L. MATHEWSON ALERT!! AND THIS ONE IS GOING LIVE in just a few days!!! OMG how could I have forgotten how awesome her stories (and characters) are?? I’m halfway through this one and I AM LOVING IT!

I’m hooked ’cause it’s got the perfect amount of friends-to-lovers/slow burn, and he’s moody and totally uncuddly, and unabashedly uninterested in… just about everyone. 😉 And I just adore how quirky and nervous she is around him (she’s his new live in assistant), and yet, endearing and completely indispensable. Best of all? I’m loving how it’s unfolding. Totally believable (and so are all of the characters). read more

Kate McCarthy – Fighting Series Reading Order

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 <— KATE MCCARTHY MILITARY HERO ALERT!! I think this one just turned into a series (although I’m not quite sure of the official series title yet…) ’cause book #2 just went LIVE! Though… these can be read as standalone, and we LOVED book #1. 😀  YAY US!!!

Kristi S: I just finished Fighting Redemption by Kate McCarthy. I read it in one day and shed a few tears. Really loved it!

Robyn C: I love military reads. I have two favorite books. Making Faces by Amy Harmon and Fighting Redemption by Kate McCarthy. read more

Terri E. Laine & A.M. Hargrove – Cruel and Beautiful Series Reading Order

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<— Remember this one??? GASP!!!! I didn’t realize this was a series!! WE LOVED book #1 like crazy here (reminiscent of our old-school super-angsty romance with a jaw dropping twist), and I just realized that there are TWO more!!!! P.S. Here’s my review of book #1 (Cruel and Beautiful). IT IS A MUST READ!!!!

NOTE: While each one can be read as a standalone (each one focuses on a specific set of characters), the characters DO cross over. Many readers recommending reading in order so you can get to know the characters as the series progresses (and also – most importantly – so book #1 is not “spoiled” by the next book in the series). read more

Our Favorite “Love After Loss” Romance Book Recommendations

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Most of today’s reader questions will be recommendation requests for certain tropes. I have received so many lately, so let’s see what new lists we can make, along with what we can add to past lists (updates!!!) YAY!!! 😀

Okay first question is by Amy (and actually Priscilla, too!) and the way it was worded, what first came to mind was… “Does she mean Vampire books”? LOL! You can tell where my romance roots are. 😉 But once she mentioned one of my favorite books ever as an example, I realized we were going much deeper… read more