Swoony Spotlights - March

Welcome to Swoony Worthy Spotlights, hosted by Bookworm Nation, Katie's Clean Book Collection and KJ's Book Nook! Swoon Worthy Spotlights features 1-3 of our favorite books that we have read during the month. We will share the cover(s), our review(s) and a link to each other's post so you can check out which books we have all chosen!

March was a great reading month for me, there were so many fun books I was able to find. Here are two of my favorite contemporaries and two of my favorite historicals for the month (in random order).

How to Love a Dog's Best Friend

by Cami Checketts

Contemporary Romance

This was such a pleasant surprise for me. I really, really enjoyed it. Cute "fake relationship" plot, with fun characters and swoony romance. Not sure I love the cover/title, but the book is definitely reading.

 Statistically Improbable

by Jennifer Peel

Contemporary Romance

Another great addition to the Peel library. This has the whole "friend first" storyline that really has you rooting for these two to figure things out. Great storytelling and a fun, swoony romance.

 Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

by Nancy Campbell Allen

Steampunk Paranormal Historical Romance

Lets see, a steampunk paranormal retelling of Beauty and the Beast.... yes, please! This was a lot of fun. Great leading characters with a great romance and fun mystery. This one sucked me in at page one and I had a hard time putting it down.

Gallant Waif

by Anne Gracie

Traditional Regency Romance

This one was a surprise, it is filled with memorable scenes, some funny, some swoony. The leads are both strong characters and it's fun to watch the battle of wits play out. I really loved the romance in this one, slow building and believable. (Content- this is more on the steamy clean side, no sex scenes)

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And don't for get to check Kathy Jo's post here and Katie's post here!

Do you have a blog and want to join us for Swoon Worthy Spotlights? Then grab the picture and post with us! We will be posting on the last day of each month. Make sure you share your link with us so we can check out your favorite authors as well! If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment below. I'd love to hear which books we're your favorite for the month!

Gallant Waif by Anne Gracie

Gallant Waif by Anne Gracie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought this was a beautiful story. I'm not sure how or when I came across this book, but I'm glad I added it to my TBR pile. After skimming over other reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect. Some people loved it and others were underwhelmed. As for me, I really enjoyed it.

Kate and Jack have a lot in common. They've both been jilted, both endured horrors of the war and both are penniless. They're thrown together by Jack's meddling and endearing Grandmama Lady Cahill. I really think Jack was lost to Kate after their first meeting, but it takes him a very long time to realize it. It's interesting to see how each have handled their trials so differently. Jack is broody and depressed, while Kate is positive and doesn't give up. These two have sparks that would like up the night. They fight like cats and dogs, but also have some really tender and sweet moments. I loved his protectiveness of Kate, and hers for him. It's almost second nature in a way. I can see how his character might rub some the wrong way, he can be gruff and say cruel things, but I thought it was believable for men of the time period. And no worries, Kate can totally hold her own and had her fair share of cruel comments as well. She won't let him wallow in self-pity. Don't get me wrong, they have a totally swoony romance and the underlying love is pretty palpable. Kate is fun, kind and you can't help but admire her. Jack is charming and hurt and you can't help but hope Kate can give him the love he desperately needs. So yeah, I totally wanted these two stubborn people to find a HEA.

While I did enjoy the story, my only complaints were the head jumping, a personal pet peeve of mine. I admit, once I got into the groove of the story it didn't bother me anymore. It was a tad sensual in places (mentioned below). I also thought Jack's ex-fiancé would make an appearance, but we never see her again. I guess I wanted her to see what she missed out on. That would have been fun to see Kate really put her in her place.

Overall, I just really enjoyed this story. Oh, and that Ball scene at the end. Wow. It was pretty epic and made me cry. And that letter at the end. More tears. So many sweet moments in this book. It'll be added to my favorite regency shelf for sure.

Content PG13 for language and mild sexual content
Romance: Pretty clean. No sex scenes, but a couple scenes I should mention for my clean reader friends (view spoiler)[1-Jack is injured in the war and while Kate is tending to his injured leg, his body responds. Its more funny than sensual and she's naïve to what is going on. 2-A steamy kissing scene that has some wondering hands, but ends before anything happens. 3-Another kissing scene, where he is asleep and she is kissing him. Kind of sensual, but pretty tame. 4-He jokingly rubs against her, teasing her. Sounds worse than it is. And lastly, Kate is tricked into a relationship during the war that ruins her reputation. No real details. (hide spoiler)]
Language: Moderate-Heavy. Mostly a lot of D, a few B and uses of OMG type stuff. Typical of the time period, nothing overly offensive IMO, just quite a bit of it.
Violence: Mild.

Source: Kindle

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