#42 [2026/CBR18] Thrown for a Loop by Sarina Bowen

I read my first Sarina Bowen novel over ten years ago. The Year We Fell Down (2014) involved romance, college, and hockey, and I really enjoyed it. I continued to read Bowen's romance novels, and I thought I'd read all of them. But when I was hunting for good romance novels to take camping with me, I discovered that I'd missed some. I guess I forgot that Bowen might continue writing, and I hadn't checked if she had anything new. And that's how I found Thrown for a Loop (2025).

Almost all of Bowen's books involve hockey and romance, and this one is no different. Chase Merritt is an MVP star player on the New York Legends NHL team. Zoe Carson is a former champion figure skater who has recently been hired by the New York Legends as a skating coach. Zoe has to prove herself as the first female coach in the NHL, but she also has a history with Chase that makes things more difficult. 

Ten years earlier, Zoe and Chase were counselors at a figure skating camp. Thrown for a Loop alternates between showing how Zoe and Chase originally met and fell in love with their present day struggles. Chase was a hockey college star when his coach said he could stay in the dorms, continue working out, and make some money being a counselor for the camp. Chase's coach was also Zoe's uncle. Zoe was also a counselor and certainly the star of the camp (either heading to the Olympics or already making it, I can't remember). Her overbearing and controlling mother is her coach and in charge of the camp. Chase and Zoe were immediately attracted to each other. Chase had a penchant for fun and gave Zoe snacks when her mother restricted her food. 

Their young romance was really very sweet, but obviously something had gone wrong because in the present day, Chase was furious at Zoe. It didn't help that he had been struggling on the ice lately. He didn't really think that Zoe could help him, but he was also desperate for something to improve. Then the video from ten years before of Zoe and Chase skating together became public, and the team thought it would be great publicity if they did it again--for charity. 

As the book continues, we get closer to the end of the summer, finding out what had happened ten years before to pry Chase and Zoe apart. In present day, the two are interacting during skating sessions. They are slowly getting closer again, but they haven't had a good talk about why Chase is so mad, or why he cut off contact with Zoe in the first place. In addition, Zoe is still trying to get some independence from her controlling mother and current ex-husband as they both pry into her life.

We eventually find out that there was an unfortunate and desperate miscommunication at the end of camp that changed Chase's life. However, fortunately and expectedly, everything works out in the end.

I enjoyed this book. I listened to it on Audiobook, and I had a good time with it. I do think I enjoyed Bowen's earlier books a little bit more. I'm not sure if they are actually better, or if they just felt that way because they were newer to me. My only complaint is from the Audiobook. I know the narrators often do different voices so we can tell the characters apart, which can be helpful. But the voice for the hockey team owner's personal assistant was so nasal and annoying that I disliked her character. Yes, I could tell her apart from Zoe, but it was not worth it. I'd rather have more "Zoe said" lines thrown in than listen to weird voices. And the personal assistant is the love interest in her own book that I read later. I had to put that voice out of my head in order to enjoy that novel.

#41 [2026/CBR18] Scarlett's Hero by Gia Cobie

I enjoy camping and backpacking by myself, and I have found that romance novels are some of the best books to read when I'm alone in the dark wilderness. They are generally easy to read, entertaining, and usually do not creep me out. So, when I had a trip coming up, I gathered a couple of romance novels for my easy reading entertainment. I first saw Scarlett's Hero (2024) by Gia Cobie on an Instagram advertisement, and even though I was a little skeptical, I decided to give it a try. I'm a sucker for a protective romantic hero, after all.

The book takes place in a small, idyllic little town called Sleepy Hollow. Scarlett is a nurse who does home health care and Grant is an ex-Seal who now owns a construction company. And if that isn't enough sexy tropes for you, he is also a volunteer firefighter.

The book begins with Scarlett at the home of one of her favorite, elderly patients. A masked man comes into the house and attacks her. She is able to fight him off and barricade herself in the patient's room before calling the police. Grant (ex-seal, construction worker, firefighter) is friends with Scarlett and is expecting her to come over for dinner. When she doesn't show up he gets worried, calls her and heads right over. He finds the home awash with police and first responders, and he gathers Scarlett right up and takes her home.

Scarlett certainly likes Grant, but they haven't pushed their relationship beyond friendship because of various baggage they both have. But after Scarlett is attacked, Grant takes it upon himself to keep her safe. When she is attacked again--and injured this time--he takes her back to the security of his home. His friends, who own a personal protection/bodyguard company also help out. Spending all this time together brings them closer, and their relationship progresses.

For months, Scarlett is never alone. Finally, they figure out that the elderly man had given almost everything to Scarlett in his will. When the son found out, he hired a hit man to take out Scarlett, thus ensuring that he would still inherit. Now that they know who has after her, Scarlett is finally safe and free to be by herself. She is also free to go home, but by this time, Grant and Scarlet want to continue living together.

Grant finally feels secure enough to leave Scarlett at home alone while he runs into town to pick up breakfast. Well, that was a mistake. Almost immediately, an intruder gets through the gated yard and kidnaps Scarlett. It turns out that the kidnapper is the first man who attacked her. He was paid to kill her, but he liked her spunk and decided to kidnap her and make her his wife. Fortunately Grant and friends track her down and save her again.

What struck me most about this book was how much violence the heroine suffered. It felt like every other page someone was trying to kill her. And just when she finally thinks she's safe, she gets kidnapped! It would be utterly terrifying, and if I were her, I would be paralyzed by fear--afraid at home and afraid to go out. Poor Scarlett even suffered violence before the book began. Apparently she was held hostage, and her friend had to kill her attacker to save her life in a previous book. One of the weirdest parts is that this book is one in a series of eight books, called Heroes of Sleepy Hollow. It seems like every book has a heroine suffering crazy amounts of violence, and they all live in Sleepy Hollow. So, this tiny, idyllic town is full of women who have lived through unimaginable things.

Fortunately, I read this book when I was still car camping and could lock my doors at night. I do not think this would have been a good read for backpacking alone. I liked the protagonists, and I'm glad they got together, but the violence was a little over the top for me.

#40 [2026/CBR18] Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I've read a number of books by Taylor Jenkins Reid and enjoyed all of them to varying degrees. I picked up Malibu Rising (2021) because I was going on a road trip and needed some audiobooks for the ride. I barely looked at the description. It was enough for me that I knew the author and it was available. Fortunately, I really enjoyed this book. It kept my attention through hours of tired driving and helped to keep me awake. 

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

Malibu Rising follows the four Riva siblings for one day in Malibu as they prepare for their "end of summer" party at Nina's mansion on the beach. All four siblings grew up surfing. Nina is the oldest and is a famous model. Jay is a world famous surfer, and Hud became a world class photographer following Jay around the world taking surfing pictures. Finally, Kit is the youngest at twenty years old. She is still trying to figure out who she is.

Malibu Rising jumps back and forth in time between the day of the party in present day, and the past--beginning with how the parents of the Riva kids originally met. We learn a lot about everyone in the family as we get closer and closer to the party. Once the party begins, a lot of things come to a head.

Mick and June Riva met on the beach. Mick was an aspiring musical artist, and June only knew she wanted something more exciting than working in her parent's seaside restaurant all her life. Mick was charming and irresistible, and it wasn't long before the two were married. Unfortunately, Mick is an egotistical cad who is incapable of fidelity in a relationship. June found this out shortly after giving birth to Jay. A woman showed up on her door with another baby, leaving it with June because Mick was the father. Mick ingratiated himself back into June's life long enough for them to have Kit, but he stayed away from June and his kids throughout their childhood. June, a tragic character, ended up working at her family's restaurant after all. She was barely able to keep them afloat while Mick enjoyed his stardom.

When June dies an early, tragic death, it is seventeen-year-old Nina who steps up and takes care of her brothers and sister. All four children grow up with different scars from their childhood, but they care about and take care of each other.

The party brings everything together. Hundreds of people are there, and they all have different agendas. Kit wants to finally kiss a man. Hud is determined to tell Jay that he's in love with Jay's ex-girlfriend. Nina is just trying to keep moving after a difficult breakup, and Jay is struggling with his worth when he finds he can't surf anymore. In addition, Mick makes an appearance, as well as another young woman who may or may not be yet another child of Mick's.

And that's just the family stuff. In addition, there are hundreds of guests determined to get wasted and/or high and/or make a name for themselves. The chaos felt real.

As I mentioned before, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and memorable, and I was invested in the story. I felt June's pain from Mick's betrayal in my gut, and I wanted to see what happened to their kids. My only complaint was that the party was sometimes a little hard to follow on Audiobook. There were just so many characters, and I sometimes had a hard time remembering which was which. On the whole, though, I really enjoyed this book. I'm rating it my second favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid book so far, after Atmosphere.

#39 [2026/CBR18] Bombshells by Sarina Bowen

I went through a phase some years ago where I read a lot of books by Sarina Bowen because I found them fun and entertaining. Recently, I was looking for good road trip books, and I looked her up again. I realized that I had missed a couple, and decided now was the time to do some catch up. I'm not sure if I intentionally skipped over Bombshells (2021) or I somehow missed it, but I was happy to find another Bowen book that I had not read.

Sylvie is from Canada. She is still grieving the recent death of her mother. She has a crush on one of the Brooklyn Bruiser stars who lived at her home when she was a teenager. And she has just joined the Brooklyn Women's Hockey team, the Bombshells. With almost no warning, Sylvie takes what she can and moves in with some fellow Bombshells players. The player she's had a crush on most of her life keeps her at arms length, but she meets another Bruisers player, Anton.

Anton is immediately transfixed by Sylvie, and they begin spending time together. They both teach a swim class to local youths, and they jog together. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, and soon enough they give in to it. Sylvie is confused at first, but she's been slowly giving up on her crush for quite a while now, and Anton is irresistible. Anton was having a more difficult time because he felt like he was betraying his teammate.

So the two keep their trysts secret for a while until it becomes impossible. However, it all works out in the end.

There's not too much drama in this book. Sylvie does have to improve her performance on the ice, and the two share some fun times together. Anton is known as a playboy and he has to stop being scared of commitment before they stop keeping secrets. But for the most part, Sylvie and Anton are on the same page.

I have always enjoyed reading Bowen's novels, and this one was no different. I never get bored while I'm reading. However, I wasn't very interested in the dead mother leaving impenetrable "signs" via hairpin for Sylvie. I found it both annoying that Syvie's mother was controlling her daughter from the grave--and unbelievable. I also realize that Bowen needed a couple of obstacles to throw at Sylvie and Anton, but Sylvie's crush seemed a little bit of a stretch. It was a tricky balance to have Sylvie be hung up on someone else, but also hooking up with her happily ever after.

On the whole, though, I enjoyed this book.

#38 [2026/CBR18] Bound by Ali Hazelwood

I'm a sucker for all Ali Hazelwood books, so when I saw that she had a new novel out, I picked up the Audiobook without even thinking. Bound (2025) is apparently only available on Audiobook until October of this year, when it will be released in print with its partner book, Unbound. I'm assuming that Unbound is a continuation of Bound, but I'm not really sure.

Veronica "Vero" is a grad student who grew up with her con artist parents. She mostly did not follow in her parents' footsteps, but when she needed money, she began forging some old books and manuscripts for her boss. This brought her to the attention of Dr. Viktor Ashworth, a professor at her school. He kidnaps her and then offers her a million dollars to help him out with his own forgery. Vero agrees.

For months, Vero is driven to Viktor's museum/palace-like residence to work on the manuscript. After a couple of unusual incidents, she figures out that Viktor and his friends aren't quite human. It turns out that Viktor is hundreds of years old and is a Revenant (vampire). He can handle the sun with sunglasses, but that's because he's old and powerful. As the two work together, they begin to like each other more and more.

Viktor wanted Vero to fake a very old document that Viktor had written himself and contained the instructions for turning people into Revenants. He wanted her to change some of the instructions because there was a rogue Revenant killing people left and right, and he did not want him to have the knowledge to turn people.

One day, Vero is attacked as she is leaving Viktor's residence. Viktor saves her, and the two become a real couple. The finale takes place in Boston when the document is finished, and the Revenants lay a trap to find the bad guy. It doesn't quite work out the way they hoped, and Vero runs over there to try to help a friend that gets caught up in the mess. Vero is badly injured. When she wakes up, Viktor has turned her into a Revenant, and the book is over.

This is my least favorite Hazelwood book so far. I'm not that into paranormal stories anyway, but this did nothing for me. The romance was incredibly slow, the love interest's voice was very stodgy. In addition, the whole purpose of the forgery and the bad guy was undeveloped, with everything wrapping up very quickly in the end. 

I also couldn't help but compare it to complaints I've heard about Twilight. Viktor is centuries old and a professor, but interested in a young, graduate student. Before she is aware, he sneaks into her apartment and drinks her blood, so he can read her thoughts and keep track of her better. She told him in conversations that she did not want to be immortal, but he thought he felt something different from her in her thoughts. He also didn't want to lose her, so he turns her without any discussion. She is happy about this, so it's not a problem in the book, but I found it all more creepy than sexy.

Not for me. Unbound might be better, but it also might be the first Hazelwood book that I skip.

#37 [2026/CBR18] Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burk

I can't remember where I first heard of Yesteryear (2026) by Caro Claire Burk, but I was immediately intrigued by the premise. A successful Youtuber "trad wife" suddenly finds herself back in the year 1855 as an OG "trad" wife. I knew nothing else about the novel, but I was hoping for some clever satire.

The book begins with our protagonist, Natalie Heller Mills doing an interview. She lives in a gorgeous farmstead with her husband and five (?) children--with one on the way. Their lives are picture perfect and enviable--at least the lives that are projected out on social media. Natalie makes bread from scratch and homeschools her children while her husband takes care of the farm. They live a beautiful, romantic life. 

But like almost everything on social media, appearances can be deceiving. Natalie has two nannies who do most of the childcare and all of the schooling. They started with money from her husband's father, and they have an army of immigrant labor to help with the farm. In addition, Natalie and her husband are really a couple in name only. They act for the cameras, but there is nothing to envy there.

One morning, Natalie wakes up and its freezing cold. She's in her house, but it doesn't feel like her house anymore. There is no electricity, refrigerator, or heat. All of her creature comforts are gone. Her children look like her children, but not quite. And her husband seems like her husband, but he looks like an old, bearded man. 

The book alternates chapters between Natalie back in 1855, and how Natalie grew up and came to be the wildly popular social media influencer that she was. I found the chapters about Natalie's past more interesting to read. I felt myself feeling sorry for her as well as being shocked at some of her actions towards her roommate, employees, and family. But all of these chapters really clarified Natalie as a character.

I was expecting a quick satire about some of these women I've seen on Instagram who loudly deride feminism while ignorantly using the power feminists of earlier generations fought for. However, this book was much more complex than I was expecting. The characters and relationships were intricate and there was more going on than a simple satire. Instead, the overwhelming feeling I got from this book was that no matter what direction you try to go, being a woman can suck. Natalie tried to do what she had been taught was right, and she found herself trapped and miserable. Natalie's sister was trapped and miserable in a different way. Even Natalie's progressive roommate was trapped in a miserable job that took over her life and men that treated her badly.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ending of this book, but overall I'm impressed with it. It was original, intricate, timely, and thoughtful. 

#36 [2026/CBR18] America the Beautiful? by Blythe Roberson

My husband recommended America the Beautiful?: One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Traveled (2023) by Blythe Roberson. I have a bit of a contest going with my oldest brother to see who can get to more U.S. national parks (I'm winning), and this book seemed on point. Roberson was taking an epic summer road trip to visit every U.S. National Park in the lower 48 that she hadn't yet been to. I chose at the time not to read it, but this summer we were driving back from Glacier National Park and needed some entertainment. We started the Audiobook.

It's hard for me to explain why I originally passed on this book. I have a hard time reading or watching people do things that I've done. This is especially true for Youtube videos of people going to places I've been, especially if it was a meaningful trip. There's a little bit of FOMO that I might have missed out on something cool, but there's also the frustration that comes if I feel they didn't do it "right". I understand that it's not rational, but it might help explain my reaction to this book.

Roberson is a millennial from New York City who grew up camping and obtaining junior ranger badges at various national parks. Now she's decided to take a break from her desk job and go earn junior ranger badges from all the lower 48 National Parks she hasn't been to yet. She picks up her step-father's car and begins at Isle Royale National Park, an island in Lake Superior. She continues around the country, with stops to visit friends along the way.

I thought Roberson could often be funny and entertaining. I enjoyed hearing about her experiences in the parks. I have also camped out of my car, so I could definitely relate. I have gone on a number of road trips to see a couple of national parks at at time, but mine are always limited to a week or two. I think two months would be exhausting. I have also never paid much attention to the junior ranger badges, but it seems like it could be a--sometimes--interesting way to learn more about the parks.

However, I did get a little bored/frustrated with this book. First, I wish there had been more content on the actual national parks. Roberson tended to have very little time, so she would drive in, do a hike, and then leave in a couple of hours. Glacier--the park my husband and I had just left--had maybe a sentence. Others had more, but this book was not really about the parks. In addition, the narrator for the Audiobook mispronounced two of the parks' names: Isle Royale and Guadalupe.

Second, even though I agree with all of Roberson's liberal, feminist tangents, I don't think they all fit well into the book. It felt like she was trying to hit every liberal talking point as filler. Some of these certainly related to the parks, like the fact the land was originally Native American and how Climate Change is affecting these unique and beautiful spaces. However, it all felt like something I'd read before, and her arguments felt a little superficial. 

In the beginning of the book Roberson talks about how few women write travel memoirs or go on adventures like hers. She says that men have much more freedom than women to adventure (often true when kids are involved, but it depends on the couple). She said that fathers can disappear for two months and no one thinks anything of it. I disagree. Again, it depends on the family, but my little brother could not and would not abandon his wife and kids for two months to go on an adventure. I think men traveling solo more than women was more true thirty to forty years ago. I travel by myself all the time, and I see plenty of women traveling solo. There are also tons of Youtube accounts of solo women sharing their journeys. It's not as remarkable anymore.

Although there were some entertaining parts, this book did not really resonate with me.