Thanks to NetGalley and Publishers Lunch for the chance to review this book! But note, this book is widely available as a free e-book full of samples to build book buzz.
I love the annual Buzz Books samplers, even if I tend to only come away with a few titles I'm excited about -- maybe my taste just isn't very mainstream! I will say that I miss the initial survey of books, those few pages jam-packed with mentions of upcoming trends, like the earlier Buzz Book Romance had. Now this is just the collection of the 14 excerpts - which is still a great chance to read early samples of books that haven't come out yet! And I appreciate that the introduction mentions the conscious effort to be more inclusive of diverse authors and stories.
ROMEANTICALLY CHALLENGED by Marina Adair
Cover: the lime green is a little blinding but it's certainly eye-catching, and there's a fun texture to the cover with the clouds and the e popping out
Excerpt: completely hilarious and engaging, I loved the scenes with her chewing out the clueless ex
Would I Read This: I actually won a copy on Goodreads and really liked it. I will warn that even though the introduction and cover are fun and light, there are some pretty serious themes in the book that put me through the emotional wringer
THE BALLAD OF HATTIE TAYLOR by Susan Andersen
Cover: this looks like historical women's fiction, not a romance (and the title has the same vibe)
Excerpt: I'm confused about why there's so much of the man's perspective when the cover is all about the heroine Hattie. And when we meet Hattie, she is an orphan kid and the man Jake is definitely an adult....is this....going to be a romance?
Would I Read This: I'll pass on this - the cover copy promises a coming-of-age Western, which are not two things I particularly care for, and the excerpt didn't grab me
SEARCHING FOR ROSE by Dana Becker
Cover: I instinctively avoid anything that looks Amish because of my negative associations with the genre, and the air of menace that hints at romantic suspense which is probably going to be too much because I am a scaredy-cat
Excerpt: I was very confused because the cover has a woman in an Amish cap, but our heroine April is a tough girl in the big city, and I couldn't reconcile the two (if you look over the cover copy, which I clearly didn't read, it mentions that she *goes* to the Amish countryside)
Would I Read This: yes, the prose is engaging and I'm interested in what happens next, but probably from the library if I can since I'm skeptical about both Amish romance and romantic suspense
THE ROOMMATE by Rosie Danan
Cover: fun 80s neon color and style
Excerpt: this flew by, it was very snappy and I was hooked from the first sentence
Would I Read It: yes, I've pre-ordered this
MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE by Devon Daniels
Cover: well, it's very clear this is about politics
Excerpt: So, back when I was still on Twitter, I saw a LOT of complaints about the idea of this book. Republican propaganda etc etc. So I was not going in with an open mind, sorry. Much to my surprise, I hated this excerpt for other reasons! The heroine's opening thoughts are complaints about hashtags, which is honestly the most Fellow Kids thing I have ever seen and I hate it. The next page talks about Justin Timberlake memes and some other meme I've never heard of, and I hated it even more. My eyes rolled into the back of my head when reading about the wonderful boss Senator *Warner* (get it? she's from the Northeast and stands up for women's rights...hmmm I wonder who in the world this could be a reference to). Then we get to the hero and heroine meeting, and we're supposed to feel bad for the heroine because the hero is not paying attention or taking her seriously or something, but honestly all I was thinking was how justified he was and how utterly naive and incompetent the heroine was being. This woman has all the political acumen of a toddler and I loathe her. I'm sure I could hate the hero too if given a chance, but it's never a good sign when we spend the whole excerpt in the heroine's head and I'm all "well I hate you but this guy seems reasonable." So, yeah. I hate this book already, thanks to the writing style and characterization, without even needing to assess the politics.
Would I Read It: absolutely not
THE CUL-DE-SAC WAR by Melissa Ferguson
Cover: this looks much more "women's fiction" or even "chick lit" than romance
Excerpt: this opening chapter is pretty chaotic and I'm confused about why it was so hard to find emergency clothing repair on hand in a theater group, and the whole weird road rage thing (with the despicable bumper stickers that I'm assuming will turn out to be a borrowed car from a brother-in-law or something)
Would I Read It: I don't think so -- the scene with the hero was charming but a little too-good-to-be-true, and the rest of the time the heroine was completely scatterbrained
FOLLOW YOUR HEART by Brenda Jackson
Cover: soothing beach scene
Excerpt: I like the meddling matchmaking matriach who's going to pair up the heroine. I always get nervous about political protagonists but nothing bothered me about the hero so far. And then our heroine talks to some jerk.
Would I Read It: not sure, as I didn't really get a good taste, I'm not sure what the point of the heroine talking to the jerk was and I wish we'd gotten to see the hero and heroine together
PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA by Jenn McKinlay
Cover: very cutesy, looks like a light travel memoir rather than a romance
Excerpt: wow I hate the heroine, she is a total jerk to her poor dad who's just embracing happiness. I want his story, not this brat's
Would I Read It: no thanks - the heroine was being inflexible and selfish (and creepy Electra complex when she told her dad he didn't need to re-marry, he had his adult daughters). plus, the cover copy is about jet-setting around Europe and I don't think I have patience for the "poor little rich girl I'm just finding myself by traveling" routine
BETTER THAN PEOPLE by Roan Parrish
Cover: tones are much more muted than on most romance covers, but I love the action shot of the dog, and the walking couple in the background
Excerpt: A CAT IS WALKING ON A LEASH ON THE FIRST PAGE so I was done for with the cute. All the scenes grabbed me and warmed my heart with animal antics and two heroes who think animals are, well, better than people
Would I Read It: pre-ordered immediately
A DUKE, THE LADY, AND A BABY by Vanessa Riley
Cover: cute, with unusual eye-catching color scheme. i like the detailed silhouettes
Excerpt: I was thrown off when this historical was in 1st person POV, and I was very confused as we start right in the thick of things. Also, I'm very skeptical of children in romance so starting out the first scene with feeding the baby was not the most engaging introduction for me, even though there was a lot of action and stakes
Would I Read This: I read a copy from the library but never warmed up to the writing style; however, I'm delighted that a historical with a POC lead and by a POC author has gotten such a big push from the publisher
THEN THERE WAS YOU by Mona Shroff
Cover: none available
Excerpt: wow, reading about back-to-school was VERY weird to do in August 2020. and this excerpt has a LOT of heavy themes - explicit racism and a random character's suicide attempt to name two, plus hints at a traumatic background and lots of emotional baggage for our hero
Would I Read This: no thanks - the heroine was sympathetic but the hero was kind of a creepy stalker, just because he realized it didn't make it less creepy
HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING by Denise Williams
Cover: I like the dark background and bright colors but I don't like that both protagonists have their back to us
Excerpt: oof, academia is really tough for me to read about because I have a lot of baggage around gunning for the same path this heroine did, and then ditching it in the middle of grad school for a much more stable and mentally healthy life. Also, we get a lot of hints at an emotionally abusive ex and that just sounds like more than I'm up to reading (especially for a book with such a cute title and rom-com-type cover)
Would I Read This: no thanks, this sounds like it will be too emotionally exhausting for me
SCANDALOUS SECRETS by Synithia Williams
Cover: cute cover with loving pose (even if I hate the chin scruff) and gorgeous sunrise colors in the background
Excerpt: political scandal and protecting heroine from abusive ex getting out of jail
Would I Read This: this will be wayyyyyy too stressful for me
THE WAY YOU TEMPT ME by Elle Wright
Cover: really cute even if it looks a little more stock than the others. I LOVE her dress, the couple looks cute together, and I like the neon lighting of the big city in the background
Excerpt: I was wary at first because it's all about high-pressure business (agency) and family succession, which is more drama than I like. but the hook at the end of the excerpt, well, hooked me!
Would I Read This: I would give this a try and look forward to checking it out at the library
OK, so of 14 books -- I've read 2, pre-ordered 2, and will try to get 2 from the library. Disliking or even hating more than half of the samples isn't great, but hey they're samples! And I appreciate the chance to try some things out I might not have picked up otherwise.