Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

 

Title: Dolly All the Time

Author: Annabel Monaghan

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: May 26, 2026

If they start by pretending, can they end with something real?

Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.

So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high-society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and kisses that hit her bloodstream like a ghost pepper, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself—can she really start now?

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Fake Dating as it's best!

Dolly Brick and her son, Gus, are moving back to Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to help her father and her brother, Christopher.

Dolly is a hard worker. She is a kindergarten teacher, an Uber driver, and a call-center representative for a company in Boston. She loves small-town life and knows Gus has been having trouble with friends at school, so she hopes he can make new ones here.

Dolly became an adult at twelve when her mother left the family. Her mother had been in an accident that injured Christopher, and she couldn’t deal with it, so she walked out. Dolly stepped up and took on all the responsibilities. The same thing happened when she got pregnant, and the father wanted nothing to do with being a parent—she became a single mom and handled it on her own.

Her life changes when she helps Stewart Whitfield, the town’s rich golden boy, change a tire. He recently went through a very public breakup after his fiancée was caught cheating with a baseball player. Stewart is trying to become the CEO of the family company and needs to improve his image. He proposes a fake-dating arrangement to help with that. In exchange, Dolly asks him to replace the roof on her father’s house.

Of course, the more time they spend together, the more they realize they enjoy each other’s company—and maybe there’s something real worth pursuing.

I love reading Annabel Monaghan’s books. They’re all great, and Dolly All the Time is no different. I fell in love with Dolly and Gus—they’re wonderful characters. Stewart was nice enough, but he could have been better when Dolly needed him to be there for her.

I listened to the audiobook because Julia Whelan is the narrator, and she is amazing.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by G.P. Putnam's Sons via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Other by Annie NeugebauerThe Outsiders Sequence #2

 

Title: The Other 

Series: The Outsiders Sequence #2

Author: Annie Neugebauer

Publisher: Shortwave Publishing

Release Date: June 9, 2026

A couple on an outdoor retreat meet their doppelgangers on a hiking trail and are soon tested on how well they truly know each other.

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After reading the first novella, The Extra, I couldn't wait to read The Other.

Set in the same world as its predecessor, The Other follows Elisa and Logan, a couple hiking in an attempt to reconnect before their marriage completely falls apart. They have been together for many years but have not yet had children, and that might be the thing that finally breaks them.

Elisa and Logan are ready to set up camp when they come across another couple at the site—Bryce and Allison—who look eerily similar to them. They are bewildered by the resemblance, but in the end, they decide to stay the night.

The next morning, chaos ensues.

I’m loving this series, and what a great, truly unexpected finale!

I will be setting aside any other book when the next book in this series comes out.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Shortwave Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Ending by Chloe Liese

Title: Happy Ending

Author: Chloe Liese

Publisher: Gallery Books

Release Date: April 14, 2026

From USA TODAY bestselling author Chloe Liese, a clever and heartwarming rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Annabel Monaghan about two best friends who must fake a relationship for their exes.

Thea and Alex have three things in common—they love food, they hate where they live, and they’re both divorced. Otherwise, they couldn’t be more different.

Thea’s never cooked a day in her life. Alex is a world-class chef. Alex resents feeling stuck in his hometown. Thea resents the town for not feeling more like home. Thea and her ex are in a contentious custody battle for their dog. Alex and his ex amicably coparent their daughter. Beyond a few friends in common, a couple small-world connections (welcome to life in a mid-size city), their lives look nothing alike. Fast forward two years, and they’re truly the best of friends. No one would ever know their friendship began as a lie…

Two years ago, their exes got together immediately following their divorces, and somehow, Thea and Alex found themselves spinning a spite-fueled story about being old friends and first loves. Two years later, what began as a ruse has grown into real friendship—just friendship, despite what friends and family seem to think. But when their exes invite them on a two-week, “two family” beach vacation—daughter and dog included—Alex and Thea start to wonder if this story they’ve spun might have gotten away from them, and if it’s led them to the last place they ever thought it could: a happy ending.

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Is it a friends-to-lovers trope or a fake-dating trope? It’s a mix of both.

Thea is divorced. She was completely blindsided when her then-husband, Ethan, asked for a divorce instead of going to couples therapy. In the present, she shares custody of their dog, Argos, with him. Thea works at the Bookshop and loves her job.

Alex is a chef who is also divorced. He shares custody of his daughter, Mia, with his ex-wife, Jen.

Thea and Alex meet for the first time at the front door of Thea’s ex-husband’s house when they discover that Jen and Ethan are together. In that moment, they come up with a lie: they tell Ethan and Jen that they knew each other years earlier and have recently rekindled their relationship.

Two years later, Alex and Thea are now great friends. They are clearly perfect for each other, but neither wants to risk losing what they have by crossing the line. Then Jen invites them on a couples’ vacation that includes Mia and Argos.

Could this trip be the one where lines finally get crossed?

Happy Ending was a slow-burning romance with likable characters—except for Ethan, who was a total douche. I loved Argos and Mia.

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

Don't Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon

 

Title: Don't Fall in Love With Me

Author: Paige Toon

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: April 14, 2026

What if the person you love the most is the one you can’t have?

Grace has loved Jackson since she was fifteen – when they spent every childhood summer exploring France's breathtaking Ardèche region together. They were best friends, until life took its course and Jackson married someone else.

Years later, Jackson re-enters Grace’s life with an irresistible her dream job in the very town where their story began. And he’s newly single.

As memories from those idyllic summers flood back, Grace encounters an old friend Étienne, who proposes a plan to help make Jackson jealous. But as their scheme unfolds, Grace finds herself questioning if the sparks between them might not be so pretend after all…

Unbeknownst to Grace, Étienne is harbouring a secret that could shatter her world.

Will learning the truth finally set her heart free?

Or is this the beginning of a love story bigger than she ever imagined?

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From the prologue, I knew this was going to be a good book.

When the book starts, we meet Grace, who has been in love with her childhood friend, Jackson, for years. It’s Jackson’s wedding day, and her heart is breaking.

Three years later, Jackson asks her to come work for him at his grandfather’s property in France for the summer. He is now divorced, and Grace can’t say no to a job she knows she’ll love—plus the chance to be close to him and her grandmother, Mellie, who lives in the same town.

Then we meet Étienne… and for me, the rest is history!

Don’t Fall in Love With Me made me laugh and made me cry. Paige Toon always makes me feel deeply through her characters. She has become one of my favorite romance authors. I fell in love with Étienne and the French setting.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who needs a break from real life. It won't disappoint!

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by G.P. Putnam's Sons via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lethal Prey by John SandfordLucas Davenport #35

 

Title: Lethal Prey

Series: Lucas Davenport #35

Author: John Sandford

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: March 25, 2025

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to track down a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep the past buried.

Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm, was brutally stabbed to death . . . but nobody knew exactly where the crime took place. Her body was found the next night, dumped among a dense thicket of trees along the edge of an urban park, eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found.

Twenty years later, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Confronted with the possibility of her own death, she’s determined to find Doris’s killer once and for all. Finally taking matters into her own hands, she dumps the entire investigative file on every true-crime site in the world and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Dozens of true-crime bloggers show up looking for both new evidence and “clicks,” and Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might be a new lead.

When one of the bloggers locates the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil begin to uncover vital details about the killer’s identity. But what they don’t know is the killer lurks in plain sight, and with the true-crime bloggers blasting every clue online, the killer can keep one step ahead. As the nation maneuvers the detectives closer to the truth, Lucas and Virgil will find that digging up Doris’s harrowing past might just get them buried instead.

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Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to find a murderer.

Doris Grandfelt was working for an accounting firm when she was murdered twenty years ago. Her body was found in a park eight miles east of St. Paul, Minnesota. Her twin sister, Lara Grandfelt, has tried for years to find the person responsible for her death, but with no luck.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Lara decides to try one more time. She offers a five-million-dollar reward to any true crime site that leads to finding the person responsible for her sister’s death.As true-crime enthusiasts start showing up and more information is unearthed, Lucas and Virgil follow the leads. This time, it seems Lara might finally get the answers she has been seeking.

I always enjoy these books, and this one features a great sociopath who is smart and cunning. It wasn’t easy for Virgil or Lucas, which made it exciting.

I do have to mention that we don’t get a real conclusion for this book. There is a huge open-ended question.

Cliffhanger: In a way...not all the answers were given

4./5 Fangs

Handle with Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Title: Handle with Care

Author: Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: pril 14, 2026

Three women walk into a post office. No, this isn't the beginning of a joke. It's the beginning of a hostage situation.

On an ordinary spring afternoon in a small-town post office, a domestic dispute spirals out of control. The husband pulls a gun and barricades himself inside with four hostages--his wife, a young woman searching for her purpose in this world, a midlife mom facing her only daughter's graduation and imminent departure, and an elderly woman hiding a secret about her life at home. Outside, even the negotiator is forced to put aside her own personal baggage in order to find a peaceful resolution to a volatile situation . . . using exclusively words.

Each of the three women who walked into the post office is carrying something that, if mailed, would profoundly change her life. Through the course of the daylong siege, these strangers will forge unforeseen bonds and reveal things to each other they haven't even told those closest to them. And none of them will ever be the same.

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A hostage situation.

In Sunset Beach, North Carolina, three women enter the post office to mail their packages. Unknown to them, Nadine—the newest clerk—is running the office alone, and her soon-to-be ex-husband, Tommy Harrell, is there trying to convince her to stay with him. When talking fails, he pulls a gun and takes them hostage.

Hope, who is new in town, is called in as a negotiator. She isn’t alone—retired FBI agent Bo is there for support.

From chapter to chapter, we learn what is happening with each of them. Sylvie Lawson is the eldest in the group, and mailing her package could mean a major change in her life. Blythe Howard isn’t sure getting married is the right decision, especially since her mother disapproves. Morrow King is dealing with her own problems, including a rebellious teenage daughter.

Handle with Care was a slow burn. My favorite character was Sylvie—she was smart and kept the group together.

FYI: The dog is not harmed in this novel.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

Too Close to Home by Seraphina Nova Glass

 

Title: Too Close to Home 

Author: Seraphina Nova Glass

Publisher: Park Row

Release Date: April 14, 2026

Nothing in this idyllic community is quite what it seems…

Those lucky enough to live in the elite lakefront community of Cloverhill Lakes are drawn to it for its safety and top-notch school district. The moms meet for coffee at the park while their kids play, they’re heavily involved in the PTA, and the summers are filled with chardonnay, brunch, sundresses, and backyard bonfires.

But everything changes when Regan Hoffman’s car explodes at the annual Labor Day party. The wrong person is killed, but it was meant for her. As the carefully crafted walls of her community begin to crumble, Regan tries to keep it together—something made infinitely harder when she sees her dead husband…alive.

When a Cloverhill Lakes resident suddenly goes missing, dark secrets begin to surface from underneath the idyllic veneer of their beautiful community—and the truth threatens to destroy them all as Regan finds herself in a fight for her life.

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A captivating neighborhood thriller!

Too Close to Home stars three main female characters: Regan Hoffman, Sasha, and Andi.

Regan Hoffman is a widow. Her husband died recently, and she is still dealing with her grief while taking anti-anxiety medication for her panic attacks. At the annual Labor Day party thrown by the Cloverhill Lakes neighborhood, Regan’s car explodes when another neighbor offers to get ice from it, instantly killing him. The police think it was a prank gone wrong, but Regan feels she was the intended target of the bombing.

Andi is dealing with her ex-husband, Ray, and his new wife, Tia Hansley, who seems determined to torture her at every opportunity.

Sasha is new to the area and has become friends with Regan and Andi. She is worried about her son, who keeps lying to her. She fears he may have something to do with what is going on.

How are all these events connected to the three women? Who is behind them, and why?

Too Close to Home hooked me from the first chapter. The main characters were likable and relatable because of how flawed they were. I was rooting for them to survive. The novel was suspenseful and had the perfect amount of twists to make it a solid read.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Park Row via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.