Quick Thoughts: A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea #1) by Hafsah Faizal

A Tempest of Tea

(Blood and Tea #1)

by Hafsah Faizal

February 20, 2024

Goodreads Summary:

Why save the world when you can have tea?

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times—bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

Quick Thoughts: Cash (Lucky River Ranch #1) by Jessica Peterson

Cash

(Lucky River Ranch #1)

by Jessica Peterson

August 22, 2024

Goodreads Summary:

Butting heads leads to knocking boots in this wildly sexy enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, small town cowboy romance by Jessica Peterson.

My dad and I have been estranged for years. But as his only living relative, it’s no surprise I inherit his massive cattle ranch when he dies. Something that is a surprise? The stipulation in his will, which requires me to live on the ranch and actively manage it for a year before I can access my inheritance money.

I haven’t stepped foot in Hartsville, Texas, population one thousand, since my parents split when I was six. Now a city girl through and through, I never imagined having to move back to cowboy country. But I need the money to invest in my company, and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

There’s just one giant roadblock to my plan: the ranch’s foreman, grumpy cowboy Cash Rivers. I don’t care how good he looks in his Wranglers and chaps. He’s rude, he’s growly, and he wants me gone. I’d fire him in a heartbeat, but I need this cowboy to teach me the ropes of running a ranch.

We’re enemies from the get-go. But turns out, Cash is really good at this ranch thing. He’s got strong hands, an intelligent mind, and let’s just say everything really is bigger in Texas. Working alongside him leads to conversations beneath the stars. Throw in some cheek-to-cheek dancing at the local dive bar, and it all feels so right that I start to fall in love with life on the ranch. And maybe with him, too.

But my stay in Hartsville is only temporary. And you know what they say about cowboys: they may break horses, but they also break hearts. If only Cash hadn’t already lassoed mine…

Quick Thoughts: Jilted by Vi Keeland

Jilted

by Vi Keeland

May 6, 2025 

Goodreads Summary:

Bramble's first never-before-published title from #1 New York Times bestseller Vi Keeland is Jilted, a slow-burn, swooning romance where 27 Dresses meets The Hating Game.

Weddings. I spend every working minute thinking and talking and writing about weddings, when the very concept makes me want to scream. After my fiancé abandoned me at the altar last year, my dream job at Bride magazine has turned reoccurring nightmare.

To add insult to injury, I’ve been conscripted into the bridal party of some bridezilla just because she knows the owners’ son. So of course I spend all afternoon bickering with one of the groomsmen and all evening making out with him.

Things only get better when I learn that of course he’s the owner’s son and I’ll have to spend the rest of the season working with him at every single wedding I cover this year.

Can the jilted bride and the man who is afraid of love find a way to heal each other?