Borrowed this ebook from Libby so what do we say? Thank you to our library! Thanks Libby for always helping a girl out!!

Emma R. Alban is very quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. Both of the books of hers that I have read have been absolutely amazing. She just writes such good love stories that I want to read and be consumed by and be invested in. If you like stories of love overcoming odds? Read this book. If you like Bridgerton? Read this book. If you love love stories in general? Read this book. Honestly? Just. Read. This. Book.

Like in Love With You is a duet narration between Rosalie and Catherine, two of the most eligible young ladies in Bath, as they are pitched against each other by their mothers in a rivalry for the hand of Bath's most eligible suitor: Mr. Dean. However, as they continue to interact with each other through the various rituals of courtship, they both soon realize that perhaps Mr. Dean is not the prize that either of them truly seek. Perhaps a husband never was...

Emma. What are you doing to me? This was such an emotional roller coaster. I laughed and I wept and I was anxious and excited and so many feelings! I get so sucked into Emma R. Alban's writing, its so easy to be absorbed by her voice as a writer and the engaging stories she tells. She creates a canvas for exploring emotional depth within her novels. We aren't just seeing the plot happen, we are feeling what the characters are feeling, and that is something that is not super easy to do, especially in a genre like romance. It adds such a layer of intensity to Emma's stories that I adore. Not only am I riveted by the plot, but the emotion going through the character's minds adds a layer that makes the love story that much more adorable, or torturous, or pure, or pining, or whatever mood she's trying to convey and it is so good. The way in which she crafts the arc of the relationship in this story as well is just so good to. How it so organically grows from a rivalry to "wait - maybe this feeling is... something else?" to "oh no I think I like them" to "I am so entirely smitten" is just so swoon-worthy.

I also just love the characters. Rosalie and Catherine are both distinctive while being part of a society that is trying to churn out very cookie-cutter ladies. Henrietta and Amalie are also distinctive even as side characters. The mothers! The entire secondary plot of the mothers' history could be a novel of its own! The interwoven stories that support each other and add to the one another's plot is masterful. And can we all just take a moment to shower love onto Rosalie's brother Christopher? The boy is perfection from the very first moment he enters the scene.

Please read this book. And if you would then like to cry with me about the end, let me know. I will talk about it forever.

This was such a good book, not that I'm surprised by that. My sister recommended it to me shortly after it's release, but I delayed reading it because of my excessive TBR and to selfishly wait until the sequel was at least a little bit closer (since she made it clear there was a cliffhanger) and I honestly kind of regret having waited. It was such a great story!

The Knight and the Moth follows Sybil, or Six, as her ten year service as one of the six Diviners at Aisling Cathedral is coming to a close. As a Diviner, she sees visions in her dreams from the divine beings of Traum known as the Omens and interprets their symbols into prophecies for whoever has the coin to call upon the sisters. Just as the six Diviners begin dreaming of what life will be like after their service ends, they begin disappearing one by one in the night. In a desperate bid to save her sister Diviners, Sybil teams up with the "foulest knight in Traum" - Rodrick Myndacious. She joins him in the travel party of the King as they travel across the kingdom so that she may use the opportunity to seek answers about what has happened to her sisters.

A moment for some narrator love. I listened to the audiobook and Samantha Hydeson really made the experience something special. They really embodied the characters well and keeping their different voices distinctive and recognizable - especially for Sybil/Six and the bat-winged gargoyle/"Bartholomew." I have listened to all of Rachel Gillig's book, and have found them all very excellent listens, and this was no exception.

I really adored Six/Sybil as a character. She was powerful in her own right, she didn't need saving, and she had a mind of her own. She had ambitions and desires that she was trying to pursue outside of the plot that was being pushed upon her. She was such a dynamically written character and it really helps carry the story. The entire cast of characters had personality though, something that Rachel Gillig is really good at. No character in her story is just wallpaper, they all have purpose and distinct features. And the bat-wing gargoyle is probably one of my favorite side characters ever. They have so much personality.

Yup, this is a romantasy. And I did really enjoy the romance between our two main characters. I spent a fair amount of the book screaming "Oh my god, just BANG already!" anytime the two of them were interacting because there was so much tension and yearning and coy teasing.

"The thing is—I think I'd do anything you asked of me" Like come on

The Knight and the Moth is such a strong showing from Rachel Gillig. I think this book outshines The Shepherd King duology, which I did really enjoy. Here, though, we can see Gillig really settling into her writing style and feeling more comfortable and confident in here storytelling. That growth is only going to benefit us fans who are hungry for more of her excellent stories. I cannot wait for the The Knave and the Moon later this year, I'm sure it is going to be a fantastic follow-up.

Hey Abby Jimenez? Please stop making me cry so much.

This is a 3 pepper spicy.

Come watch Xavier and Samantha's story unfold. It all starts with a kitten who needs a butthole. Xavier is the unreasonably handsome vet with his own clinic and a soft spot for all his patients. Samantha is a marketing genius who sells the hell out of some mustard. After the most out of this world first date they could have imagine... Samantha is forced to admit that her "trip" across the county is, well, permanent. She's moving home to take care of her mother, who is suffering with dementia, and she has no plans to return. She apologizes and tells Xavier to forget her - but he just can't seem to...

Once again - that duet narration/dual POV combo knocking it out of the park. I listened on audio (through libro.fm), as I often do with my romances, and they really did an excellent job. Both Matt Lanter & Christine Lakin were able to diversify their voices enough to capture the very large cast of characters we had in an identifiable way, which is super appreciated, as well as give a strong presence to our two main characters. Really excellent narration.

This is the sappiest of sappy sap sap romances. Soap opera levels. I'm not upset, I'm just preparing you. This is some really cute romantic stuff. There is also some deeply emotional trauma laden in. I'm talking rip-your-heart-out-of-your-chest sad. Me-choking-on-sobs-while-I'm-driving-down-the-highway-listening sad. I'm a crier, I'll fully admit that, but oh my god. Also the amount of cute animals featured?? UGH. To die for. Perks of a vet as a main character is that we get oodles of cutesy animal descriptions. Also there is an absolutely massive cast of characters in this one. Samantha has a large family, and Xavier has a large found-family and its a lot to keep track of but they all really felt like full-fledged people in the story, which is always something I love. Secondary characters deserve love too. My only downside on this book is honestly the ending. Other than that, I really enjoyed this story, and I'm looking forward to giving The Night We Met a listen later this year.

Final thoughts? Not all romances need an HEA and Tristan was actually probably my favorite character in the book.

Shout out to Libby for the audiobook loan. I do have a signed edition, but I just love listening to my romance, what can I say?

This is 5 pepper spice book for me. It really jumps in and doesn't back down.

Teddy Hamilton is also climbing the list of narrators who I can recognize and appreciate. I liked the duet narration, and I really think the trend in these romances with the dual POVs and duet narrations in their audiobooks is a good one. Oh romance authors of the world, please keeping doing it!

This was arguably a lot less engaging than Lights Out. It felt like there was a lot less plot driving this story, and that the characters weren't nearly as fleshed out. Much more on the smutty side of the scale, not that I hated that or anything. However, after the really great storytelling and characters from Lights Out my bar was set really high for Navessa Allen on this follow up. Nico and Lauren just didn't have the same chemistry for me. I didn't find Nico nearly as interesting overall, to be fair. He was much less dynamic for me compared to Josh. I did love Lauren, aside from one shocking scene where she totally goes off the rails in my humble opinion (it's a taser joke, iykyk). And the club setting was also a super cool background to set up. But their dynamic just didn't hit as hard for me, and there wasn't as much plot outside of their relationship for me to engage with, so I was left feeling a bit let down. The spice was delightfully spicy, and the story was still well-written though! If you are a big fan of mafia romances? This book would be right up your alley I bet.