Kiss Her Once for Me
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun is $1.99! I remember Aarya being excited for this one in Hide Your Wallet, but it seems like there was too much emphasis on pop culture and not enough on the actual relationship.
One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money.
Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.
On the Plus Side
On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe is $2.99! This was mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet and I remember it being pretty buzzy. Did any of you read this one?
After a painfully public break-up her senior year in college, Everly Winters is perfectly happy to navigate post-grad life like a good neutral paint color: appreciated but unnoticed. That’s why she refuses to apply for her dream job as a graphic designer, why she hides behind an anonymous username on the online forums for her favorite make-over show, ON THE PLUS SIDE, and why she’s crushing so hard on her forever-unattainable co-worker. When no one notices you, they can’t break your heart or insist that you’re too much.
This plan is working perfectly until someone secretly nominates Everly for the next season of ON THE PLUS SIDE. Overwhelmed by the fast-paced production schedule and the show’s trio of hosts, she finds comfort in grumpy but honest cameraman Logan Samuel (and his supremely well-sculpted arms). Soon Everly realizes that he’s someone she doesn’t mind being noticed by. In fact, she might even like it.
But when their growing connection is accidentally caught on camera, it sends the show’s ratings into a frenzy. Overcoming her own self-doubt and embracing change on national TV is hard enough; can Everly risk another heartbreak with the whole world watching?
A Lady for a Duke
RECOMMENDED: A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall is $1.99! Shana reviewed this one and gave it a Squee grade, though I know other readers had different experiences and we always love hearing those in the comments:
Many of the book’s themes are around friendship–loving a friend but hiding parts of yourself, learning to connect with other women, and the perils of competitive friendships. I loved A Lady for a Duke, it’s a must-read for historical romance fans looking for a new take on Regency friends-to-lovers.
When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.
Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.
As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again.
Chick Magnet
Chick Magnet by Emma Barry is $1.99! I believe it’s also part of KU, so if you subscribe, check this one out. It was mentioned on a previous Hide Your Wallet
