Just Folking Around

de Penny Reid (2021)

Résumé : Raquel Ezra loves to fish. With so many fish in the sea, she’s never had a problem baiting the hook or reeling them in. Raquel is a good actress, she can be anyone’s fantasy for a single night as long as they agree to be hers. Which is why she doesn’t think twice about spending an evening in nowhere Tennessee with a smokin’ hot, well-mannered, and intriguing sheriff’s deputy by the name of Jackson James.

Except, when the time comes, Raquel discovers that reality might just be better than any fantasy, and maybe she’s not ready to release this catch.


Cette novella surprise est le préquel du prochain livre de Penny Reid "Totally Folked" qui aura pour héros : Jackson James ! Personnage que l'on découvre dès Beauty and the Mustache et qui nous poursuis dans les Winston Brothers, il a enfin son histoire à lui :)

Ce préquel commence pendant le mariage de Sienna et Jethro, Raquel est une amie de Sienna, elle aussi actrice. Habituée aux grandes villes, Green Valley et son ambiance communautaire où tout le monde se connait ne lui plait pas trop. Cependant, elle est là pour faire la fête, et si en bonus elle peut passer du bon temps avec l'un des barbus qui pullulent de partout, ce serait parfait.

Cletus met alors Jackson sur le chemin de Raquel et l'attirance mutuelle est là, ils s'entendent bien, ce serait dommage de ne pas passer la soirée ensemble. Raquel est directe : elle ne veut rien de sérieux... Pour Jackson ce sera peut-être un peu plus difficile d'oublier sa rencontre avec elle...

This surprise novella is the prequel to Penny Reid's next book "Totally Folked" which will have Jackson James as its hero ! A character that we discovered in Beauty and the Mustache and who is present in the Winston Brothers books, he finally has his own story :)

This prequel begins during Sienna and Jethro's wedding, Raquel is a friend of Sienna, and also an actress. Used to big cities, Green Valley and its community atmosphere where everyone knows each other doesn't please her too much. However, she's here to party, and if she can have a good time with one of the bearded guys that swarm everywhere as an added bonus, that would be perfect.

Cletus then puts Jackson in Raquel's path and the mutual attraction is there, they get along well, it would be a shame not to spend the evening together. Raquel is clear : she doesn't want anything serious... For Jackson it might be a little more difficult to forget meeting her...

Give Love Chai

de Nanxi Wen (2021) Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Tia Wang’s Wedding Planning To-Do List :
1. Find the perfect dress
2. Win her future mother-in-law's approval
3. Divorce her not-so-ex husband, Andrew Parker

When she fell in love and married her childhood best friend on a whim in Vegas, Tia innocently thought love conquered all. Turns out, that was a crushing lie. Her world shattered as she and Andrew were torn apart by secrets and mistakes. Ten years later, Tia has left the pain behind and carved out a new life with Mr. Perfect. The only thing standing between her and happily ever after? A divorce from Andrew.

It should have been easy for Andrew to sign his name on the dotted line. Independent, prickly, and always in control, Andrew has done everything to escape his past. But seeing Tia on his doorstep after all these years? He can’t help wondering what might have been. Andrew has never forgotten Tia and vows to fight for their relationship this time around. If he has to hold those divorce papers hostage to get his second chance, he will.

Feelings resurface, stronger and more complex than ever. But Tia and Andrew have more than Mr. Perfect between them. Can they overcome past mistakes to forge a future together, or will new threats ruin their second chance at forever ?


J'ai un avis très partagé sur cette romance, même si je l'ai globalement bien aimé, j'ai trouvé qu'il y avait quand même des éléments un peu too much, et qu'Andrew avait bien besoin d'une bonne claque à un moment xD.

Le point de départ est assez intéressant : Tia veut se marier à Clayton, sauf qu'elle découvre qu'elle est toujours mariée à son amour de jeunesse Andrew, qu'elle n'a pas vu depuis 10 ans, ce divorce n'a jamais été finalisé... Donc Tia va voir Andrew pour lui donner les papiers à signer, et là problème : revoir Andrew réveille d'un coup ses anciennes passions et elle part précipitamment sans les papiers xD. Du coup, cette fois c'est Andrew qui se déplace pour aller la voir, tombe sur Clayton et réalise que non il peut pas signer ces papiers, il aime encore Tia ! Clayton devine l'embrouille et va laisser du temps à Tia pour qu'elle fasse son choix (le pauvre, il a pas le bon rôle, mais il est pas non un méchant).

Andrew va avoir 2 semaines pour convaincre Tia que leur histoire n'a jamais été terminée, que leurs erreurs d'ados peuvent être réparé maintenant qu'ils ont tous les deux grandit. Ils vont avoir beaucoup à se dire, ils avaient de gros problèmes de communication à l'époque et des anciennes blessures vont ressortir.

J'ai apprécié que Tia et Andrew galèrent quand même une fois qu'ils commencent à parler, quand ils apprennent les raison du quiproquo qui les a fait se séparer. Ce sont des êtres humains avec la présence d'esprit de ne pas être dans la rancoeur et d'admettre leur erreurs respectives.

Ce que j'ai trouvé too much dans ce roman, c'est tout le bin's avec le papa d'Andrew, je pense qu'il avait pas besoin de réapparaitre à la fin, que l'histoire pouvait se clôturer sans cette mini intrigue qui sortait de nulle part.

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I have a very divided opinion on this romance, even if I liked it, there were still elements a little bit too much, and Andrew really needed a good slap at one point xD.

The starting point is quite interesting : Tia wants to marry Clayton, except that she finds out that she is still married to her childhood sweetheart Andrew, whom she has not seen in 10 years, their divorce has never been finalized... So Tia goes to Andrew to give him the papers to sign, and problem : seeing Andrew awakens her old passions and she leaves hastily without the papers xD. So this time it's Andrew who goes to see Tia, comes across Clayton and realizes that he can't sign these papers, he still loves Tia ! Clayton guesses the mess and gives Tia time to make her choice (poor man, he doesn't have the right role, but he's not a bad guy either).

Andrew has 2 weeks to convince Tia that their relationship and marriage were never over, that their teenage mistakes can be fixed now that they have both grown up. They are going to have a lot to say to each other, they had big communication problems at the time and old wounds will emerge.

I appreciated that Tia and Andrew still struggle once they start talking, when they learn the reasons for the misunderstanding that caused them to break up. They are human beings with the presence of mind not to be resentful and to admit their respective mistakes.

What I found too much in this novel is all the bits with Andrew's dad, I think he didn't need to reappear at the end, that the story could have ended without this mini plot that came out of nowhere.

Mad About Ewe

de Susannah Nix (2021) Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Dawn Botstein is doing just fine after her divorce, thank you very much. She’s got her yarn store to run, her house to herself for the first time in her life, and no use for men anymore. That is until the hottie silver fox who walks into her store turns out to be her old high school crush—the guy who rejected her 30 years ago.

No way is she going to lose her head over him this time, no matter how well he wears that salt-and-pepper lumberjack beard. Okay, so he’s the opposite of her ex in every way, and his attention gives her a thrill she thought she’d never feel again. She’s not risking her heart again.

Mike Pilota is having a mid-life crisis. Only instead of buying a red sports car he can’t afford and dressing like a 25-year-old who’s time-traveled from the 1990s, he quit his job after his second divorce to move closer to his recently widowed mother.

He didn’t expect to run into Dawn again, but as soon as he lays eyes on her he’s utterly smitten. So he sets out to make up for past mistakes and prove he can be the kind of man she deserves.

But is it too late for second chances? Or will these two lonely hearts find a way back to each other ?


J'imagine que ma note est peut-être biaisée : on lit tellement de romance avec des héros de 25 ans, que lorsqu'on en découvre une avec des quarantenaires on en profite à fond xD

Dawn et Mike ont eu chacun une première vie et viennent tout juste de commencer une nouvelle étape. Dawn profite de son célibat après son divorce et prend plaisir à s'occuper de son magasin de laine ; Mike, aussi divorcé, retourne dans sa ville natale pour s'occuper de sa mère après le décès de son père. Tous les deux étaient au lycée ensemble : elle était folle amoureuse de lui, mais lui était un ptit con à cet âge-là et ne voulait pas être vu avec elle (même s'il l'aimait bien)... 30 ans plus, ils se recroisent par hasard et c'est électrique, comme s'ils étaient 2 ados !

Même en étant tous les deux célibataires et très motivés à se donner une chance, il y a quand même des aléas de vie qui n'aident pas et des fragilités personnelles qui ne sont pas évidentes à surmonter quand elles sont ancrées depuis des décennies. Dawn et Mike vont se porter l'un l'autre pour arriver à se libérer des derniers freins qu'ils se mettaient et enfin vivre pleinement (dans tous les sens du terme).

Une romance qui fait du bien et qui montre que des gens de 45 ans peuvent aussi être des héros de romance sexy ^^

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I guess that my rating may be biased : we read so much romance with 25-year-old heroes, that when we discover one with 40-something, we take full advantage of it xD

Dawn and Mike had lived their first lives and have just started a new step. Dawn enjoys her celibacy after her divorce and takes pleasure in running her wool store ; Mike, also divorced, returns to his hometown to care for his mother after the death of his father. The two of them were in high school together : she had a massive crush on him, but he was a jerk at that time and didn't want to be seen with her (even though he liked her)... 30 years later, they meet again by chance and it's electric, as if they were back being teenagers !

Even being both single and very motivated to give each other a chance, there are still life events that do not help and personal weaknesses that are not easy to overcome when they have been embed for decades. Dawn and Mike are going to support each other to free themselves from their last brakes and finally live fully (in every sense of the word).

A feel good romance that shows that 45-year-olds can also be sexy romance heroes ^^