A small-town romance with a few twists... No Place Like Home by Betsy St. Amant (Review) #newbooks #bookx #NoPlaceLikeHome #MagnoliaBay #BetsyStAmant #christfic #romancebooks @justreadtours

No Place Like Home

(Magnolia Bay #2)

By Betsy St. Amant

Contemporary Christian Fiction, Romance

Paperback & eBook, 364 Pages

May 20, 2025 by Sunrise Publishing

Summary

The girl he always loved ran away to join…the circus. But will a homecoming give him a second chance at giving her a reason to stay in this unrequited love romance?

Magnolia Bay’s development director, Cade Landry, would do anything for his town—and his family. So when the mayor—who also happens to be his father—decides to retire, he talks Cade into running for his seat. But Cade is already up to his dimpled cheeks in the town’s post-hurricane revitalization fundraiser—Magnolia Days, featuring a flashy Cajun Circus. If Cade can’t put the bay back on the map as a tourist town, he’ll let the whole community down…and worse yet, his father.

Rosalyn Dupree is a famous aerialist with a secret—actually, quite a few of them. Much to Cade’s relief, she agrees to return to Magnolia Bay for the first time in years as a headliner for the Cajun Circus. But neither her charming former school rival Cade nor her parents know she’s broke, in debt, and nursing a back injury…among other things. She’d love to move back to the bay for good, but the beloved sport that used to let her fly has become her cage.

Despite her best efforts at resisting, sparks fly between Cade and Rosalyn as they work together on the circus fundraiser. But when everyone’s secrets are revealed and worlds collide, will Rosalyn find forgiveness and restoration in a town being rebuilt? Or will there never be anywhere to truly call home?

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My Review

NO PLACE LIKE HOME is a story about old high school rivals who end up working together to support their town and find that their friendship has a few more sparks than they remember. There are a few interesting pieces that make this story more than your usual small-town romance along with a few twists and turns. The community of people and the characters themselves are sure to charm readers from beginning to end! Definitely worth picking up if you're a Christian romance or sweet romance fan!

I could tell from the first few pages that I was going to like this one. The characters are both perfectly imperfect, making them easy to like and relate to. They both have their own challenges, Rosalyn's a bit more extreme than Cade's, but all are real and heavy. They're both trying to handle things on their own and appear more capable and perfect than they really feel. I liked how easily Rosalyn and Cade fall into their friendship. They knew each other for a long time before this story starts and there's a natural feel to their relationship from the start. I also love how they tease each other and the banter. There's a group of friends and townspeople who also add so much fun and personality to this story. The faith element is woven through really well with a few sweet and poignant experiences. Add in some big, high pressure moments, a bit of danger, all the aerial stuff and a chemistry-filled romance, and you have a compelling and entertaining story. 

There were very few things not to like about this story. A few reactions and dialogue that didn't feel quite right to me. Like, Cade being so easily shaken and uncertain in some places and reacting poorly in others. There were also a few things that are overexplained to a crowd that weren't realistic. I could see why things were written as they were, but they felt inconsistent with the characters. Having said all that, there were very few instances of these and I still thoroughly enjoyed this one!

In the end, was it what I wished for? This story was full of small-town charm, great characters, unexpected and unique plot elements, naturally woven elements of faith, and sweet, swoon-worthy romance. An enjoyable story worth adding to your to-read list. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy through JustRead Publicity Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Have you read the first book in this series or other books from this author?

Can't Wait for... Last Night Was Fun by Holly Michelle (Can't-Wait Wednesday) #CWW #WOW #bookx #newbooks #LastNightWasFun #HollyMichelle #NetGalley #romancebooks #romcom #beachread @AvonBooksUK @HarperVoyagerUS

Can't-Wait Wednesday  is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

I realized this past weekend that my CWW post for last week never posted. I so apologize if you came here and then weren't able to link up!

I feel like the title of this book is a bit misleading as it's the text sent to a wrong number that starts this romance off. What grabbed me was the spin-off of You've Got Mail, which has been a go-to romance of mine for forever. I also like close proximity romances and this one sounds like it has a bit of that too although not to the full extent. It sounds like the perfect beach read so I'm excited to relax to some straight-up fun romance! It's my pick this week...

Last Night Was Fun

By Holly Michelle

Contemporary Romance, Romcom, Women's Fiction

Audiobook, Paperback & eBook, 368 Pages

June 10, 2025 by Avon

Summary

You’ve Got Mail meets The Hating Game! Vying for a promotion against a bitter rival as the only female data analyst for a professional baseball team, Emmy finds solace in the text-flirting relationship that started as a wrong number exchange—unaware that the man she’s texting is the one she’s fighting for the promotion.

Emmy Jameson lives by three no dating, no sharing personal news at work, and baseball above everything. As the only female data analyst for a professional baseball team, Emmy is constantly trying to prove herself.

Especially when she’s put up for a senior analyst position against her arrogant, infuriating coworker Gabe Olson. Sure, he’s gorgeous and smart and he was a baseball star in college who knows the sport inside and out, but so does Emmy. She is not going to lose to him again. There will be no distractions this summer. Not even her sister’s pending destination wedding in Mexico for which she needs to find a plus one.

But then she receives a text from an unknown number with a simple “Last night was fun.” When she strikes up a conversation with the mystery texter, they realize that he was given a fake phone number after a bad date that just so happened to be Emmy’s. Despite her rules, Emmy can’t deny the instant connection she feels and soon finds herself falling for the stranger on the other side of the screen…and inviting him to her sister’s wedding.

Emmy’s world turns upside down when her mystery man turns out to be none other than Gabe Olson. They are left having to travel to the wedding together while trying to sort out which version of their relationship is their in-person rivalry or the deep connection they found in their messages.

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Will you be reading this one?

A mix of The Titanic and Alien... Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston (Review) #newbooks #bookx #yalit #yabooks #scifi #TitanoftheStars #EKJohnson #TBRBeyondTours

Welcome to my tour stop! Check out this new YA sci-fi and my review below...

Titan of the Stars

By E.K. Johnston

Young Adult Sci-Fi Horror

Audiobook, Hardcover & eBook, 304 Pages

May 27, 2025 by Tundra Books

Summary

Alien meets The Titanic in this tense YA science fiction horror series by #1 New York Times bestselling author E.K. Johnston.

Celeste knows every inch of this ship. She's proud of her work as apprentice engineer. And as the maiden voyage of the Titan launches, she's optimistic for the promises of this new journey from Earth to Mars — this new life.

Dominic arrives at his suite where his valet is busy unpacking his things. His chest is tight, already feeling anxious inside his dad's precious new ship. Once it launches, he's trapped, inside the ship and inside the life his father has chosen for him — a life that will leave his dreams of art school behind.

Discovered under melted ice caps, ancient aliens have been brought onto the Titan as well, and stored in display cases for the entertainment of the passengers . . . until an act of sabotage releases them into the ship, with zero discrimination for class, decks or human life . . .

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My Review

TITAN OF STARS is a steadily paced sci-fi thriller with a constant undertone of danger that majorly ramps up towards the end. The first half of the book introduces readers to the characters so that they're invested in what will occur in the second half, and fully immerses them in this futuristic world with its politics and different classes of people. The story unfolds as they travel in a spaceship to Mars from Earth. The characters are likable and all complex with their own challenges and personalities. This is the book for readers who like alien stories but not full throttle horror. There are plenty of chills but ones this reader could handle. 

Read this book if you like:
- Intriguing sci-fi stories set in space
- Likable, diverse characters
- Books with aliens (the scary kind)
- Well-plotted and engrossing storylines
- Stories where romance isn't the main focus
- An ending that makes you want to read the next book

The characters in this one were all so varied. Three of the main ones were about the same age, but they all had different backgrounds, situations they're dealing with and personalities. They were all fairly well drawn, but also flawed, making it easy for readers to relate to them all in some way. And they're definitely likable. I wasn't sure exactly how invested I should be with each of them, but I hoped the author wouldn't kill them all off before the end of the book. I won't spoil it for anyone though. You'll have to read it yourself and find out who lives.

The setting was fascinating to me. There's been this rift in the earth that created a huge catastrophe and there's some unique political and power roles for the characters on this ship. There was all this maneuvering and power plays and then you add to that dead aliens in cases for observation. Aliens that were fairly well described and who may not actually be as dead as believed. The author did a great job in making me think and have questions along the way. You also can totally feel the tension building and then some additional freak-out moments with the characters. I felt like the plot was developed well. It felt realistically portrayed and logical for things to happen as they did. And. The. Ending. Yep, I'll leave it there.

I didn't have many complaints with this book. The only major one would be not always being able to tell the difference between POVs, so I would have liked the characters actual voices to be more easily differentiated so I wasn't always trying to figure out who was speaking in the first couple of paragraphs. My other complaint is that I could have done without some of the crass references and language.

In the end, was it what I wished for? This was an enjoyable book that starts of slow and steadily increases the tension until things escalate. Likable characters, an interesting setting, and a bit of chills kept me engrossed. I'm beyond curious to find out what will happen in book two!

Content: Some crass verbiage and swearing (including a handful of f-words), references to a gay relationship, violence (some of it a bit gory and disgusting).
Source: I received a complimentary copy through TBR and Beyond Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

About the Author

E.K. Johnston had several jobs and one vocation before she became a published writer. If she’s learned anything, it’s that things turn out weird sometimes, and there’s not a lot you can do about it. Well, that and how to muscle through awkward fanfic because it’s about a pairing she likes.

Her books range from contemporary fantasy to fairy-tale reimaginings, from hopeful sci-fi to quiet epics, and from small town Ontario to a galaxy far, far away. She has no plans to rein anything in.

You can follow Kate online (@ekjohnston) to learn more about her Dragon Age decisions than you really need to know, or on Tumblr (ekjohnston) and Instagram (ek_johnston) if you’re just here for pretty pictures.

E.K. Johnston is represented by Adams Literary

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Tour Schedule

Follow the tour here.

Have you read any books with a spin-off of The Titanic or Alien?