Earl Grey Books

As you can tell from the title, today is all about small-town romances. I’ve read a few in the past, maybe 4 or 5, but it’s not a trope I reach for often. I wanted to give it a good shot and see if it might be something I enjoy and here we are. So I picked out five (with the help of Angel) and let’s see how I did!

Flawless (Chestnut Springs #1) by Elsie Silver

First up, just wanted to pop this here because it’s not relevant to the review but it is for the post—and that is that it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a small-town romance. Technically the series is small-town romances but this one moves around a lot and we don’t see much of the small town. I don’t have time to read the whole series for this post, so it’s just this one for today.

I’ve been hearing people sing the praises of Elsie Silver for a while now, but I was always a little hesitant since this one is about a bull rider. Honestly, that doesn’t really align with my interests. But I finally gave her a go and I loved this. I really wasn’t interested in the bull riding aspect, but it’s full of tropes I really enjoy like only one bed and some really good banter. For the most part, I really liked Rhett and Summer’s story—there were a couple of things in Summer’s backstory that were very weird and uncomfortable, I think had some of those things been expanded on rather than just mentioned and then left alone I would’ve enjoyed them more. But ignoring those it was a fun read and their romance was sweet. I’m planning to continue the series though I have no idea when I’m going to find time for that right now.

Indigo Ridge (The Edens #1) by Devney Perry

I’ve read about 5% of a Devney Perry book before even though I’ve heard so many people talk about her. That first one I tried just wasn’t the place to start because I read Indigo Ridge is less than two hours. This is incredibly addictive—I loved the romance between Winn and Griff, but it was really the mystery element that kept me reading. I’d honestly just started this one because it was recommended as one of the most popular small-town romances on Goodreads and I can see why. It was honestly fantastic and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. I’m so excited to see who and how the rest of the Eden siblings fall in love—I think it’s got potential to be one of my favourite series if the others are as strong as this one.

That Kind of Guy (Queen’s Cove #1) by Stephanie Archer

I picked this one just by looking up ‘small town romance’ on KU. I’d never heard of Stephanie Archer before but the cover is cute and I do love a fake dating situation. This was a fun one. I didn’t really care about the story that much—I’m not that interested in people who run restaurants or run for mayor, but I liked that it was a little different. I loved the chemistry between Avery and Emmett though. I always say that my favourite part of reading romance is when the couples have top quality banter and Avery and Emmett definitely did. And the smut? Chef’s kiss. There were definitely a few plot holes or moments where you have to suspend your disbelief a little, but I think the characters and the romance make up for those. I’ll definitely consider continuing this series as well.

Rewrite Our Story (Sutten Mountain #1) by Kate Singleton

This one was on my original list and I did start it but the girl’s mum dies in the first five pages and I just cannot read that right now. I’ve heard good things about this one and I might circle back to it one day, but it was recently the anniversary of my own mum’s passing and I am not in the mental space for this.

Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1) by Laura Pavlov

This was meant to be the last one on the list. I read the first 15% and decided it just wasn’t for me. I was already so sick of being told how sexy the characters were to each other rather than actually seeing anything. I don’t think brother’s best friend/best friend’s brother is a trope I enjoy either.

I think on the whole, two that I really, really enjoyed and one that I liked is pretty good. I think it’ll a genre I try a bit more from in the future. Have you read any of these? What are your favourite small-town romances?