Book Review: The Unwanted Wife by L. Steele (The Davenports Book 1)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes: Marriage of Convenience • Brother's Best Friend • Secretly in Love • Curvy FMC • Billionaire Romance • Fake Marriage • Slow Burn • Small Business Owner • Virgin FMC

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️

Format: eBook

Series: Davenports Book 1

    Skylar has always wanted to own a bakery and she has finally got it open and is the sole employee. This means that she does all the prep-work and day to day. Her items taste amazing, everyone loves the items and their unique names...but without better marketing there is no way she will be able to keep it, even with her bother as her biggest supporter. Until his best friend Nathan comes in and offers her all the money she could possibly need in order exchange for being his wife for 1 year. He needs a wife to become CEO of his grandfather's company and she needs the funds. Perfect, and with a set deadline. 

    This is another Tiktok made me read it and I love a good marriage of convenience. This one had a fun twist with her brother (not incest) way that was unexpected. Not that her husband was her brother's best friend, but you will see. This is a cute and sexy brother's best friend marriage of convenience where they were both secretly in love all along, but were hiding it from...only themselves. 

    I love the names of her pastries so much. They absolutely stole the show for me. Probably because this adorable little curvy virgin had dirty booktok names for all her items. It was cute, and made me want to try all of them. It doesn't surprise me at all that all she really needed was better marketing, because the premise was great for this bakery. 

    There are spice scenes in this book, but they happen late in the book. I loved how this book ended, although it was on a bit of a bittersweet note. I can't wait to see what happens with her later in the series, because no way does that background character get to stay single. I also love that the epilogue immediately tells us who the next relationship in the series will be between. 

    This book is available on Kindle Unlimited or buy it on Amazon for $5.99 by clicking here. 

⭐ You'll Love This Book If You Enjoy:

• Marriage of convenience romances
• Brother's best friend
• Secretly in love all along
• Billionaire romance
• Curvy heroines
• Small-town bakeries
• BookTok humor
• Slow-burn romance with open-door spice
• Fake relationships that become real
• Connected romance series

Book Review: Quest for Love by Danielle Hill (Hearts at Play Book 1)

Genre: Young Adult Romance • Contemporary Romance

Tropes: Online Friends, Gamer Romance, Hidden Identity, College Romance, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Closed Door Romance, Meet Cute, Online Gaming, Love Triangle (Perceived)

Spice Level: None

Format: eBook

Series: Hearts at Play Book 1

    When Arden's best friend leaves for the summer, she decides to see what all the excitement surrounding online gaming is about. Logging into Quest for Camalor for the first time, she has no idea what she's doing until one friendly player takes her under his wing. Before long, he's introduced her to his group of friends, and what starts as simply learning the game slowly turns into something much more. 

    At least for Arden. As the weeks pass, she finds herself developing real feelings for the boy behind the screen. So when she discovers they attend the same college, asking to meet in person feels like the obvious next step. His answer isn't what she expected. Now Arden is left wondering if she completely misread everything between them—or if there's more going on than she realizes.

    I picked this book up after downloading it for free quite a while ago and finally got around to reading it for my alphabet reading challenge. It ended up being a charming surprise.

    This is a sweet young adult romance featuring college sophomores and a completely closed-door romance. As someone who spends plenty of time gaming on PC—and whose husband is also a gamer—the premise immediately appealed to me. There's just something fun about the idea of meeting someone online, building a genuine friendship through a game, and then discovering they're living in the very same town. It made the romance feel both modern and incredibly relatable.

    The author also does a great job directing the reader toward one potential love interest while quietly planting clues about where the story is actually headed. I had my suspicions fairly early on, simply because it's a trope I read with some frequence, but even knowing where I thought things were going didn't take away from the enjoyment. Watching everything unfold was still satisfying, and I appreciated how naturally the mystery was woven into the romance.

    Despite being only 157 pages, the story never felt rushed. The pacing works well for the length, allowing enough time to connect with the characters while still delivering a complete and satisfying romance. By the end, I found myself hoping we'd eventually get a story featuring Arden's best friend, Solana. She was a fun supporting character, and I'd happily come back to this world if she gets her own happily ever after.

    This book is available on Kindle Unlimited or buy it on Amazon for $3.61 by clicking here. 

⭐ You'll Love This Book If You Enjoy:

• Gamer romances
• Online friendships that become something more
• Hidden identity romance
• College-age characters
• Sweet, closed-door romance
• Friends-to-lovers vibes
• Cozy contemporary reads
• Wholesome relationship development
• Fast, feel-good books
• Stories centered around online gaming

A heartwarming gamer romance that perfectly captures the excitement of forming real connections through online games while delivering a sweet, wholesome love story that's easy to read in a single sitting.