Tag: romance novel

Book Review: Beach Read by Emily Henry 📖🏖🖊

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ Leave a comment

Imagine a dare is born out of a college-nemesis/complicated past feelings relationship, that results in two bestselling writers crafting stories from genres they despise. The winner has to poach their novel to publishers, get the biggest book deal and the highest paying advance. 

Enter January and Gus. 

January has just made the worst discovery of her life. After her Dad’s recent passing, a letter he left her explained that he had been in love with another woman and had built a life with her all in a small beach town. January is confused as he was always the most loving father and their connection was strong. He has left the house that he shared in his double life to January. Not only is she thrown for six but her writing jué jué is off and the timeline on her next book is closing in. 

Gus has never forgotten the frustratingly talented writer from college who never failed to make every writing assignment into a happy ending. He much prefers to research for years, uncover and pull apart the pieces of people that we sometimes never see. Seeing January in the house next door on the summer evening of his birthday was not what he had on his Bingo card for this year. But will it turn out to be his, and her, best year of writing yet?

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Author Talks with Steph Vizard

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ Leave a comment
📸 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize Winner, Steph Vizard

Steph Vizard has burst onto the Australian romance writing scene with her debut & award winning novel, The Love Contact.

Steph has a wealth of experience in the Australian and international book industry. From studying Literature at Oxford University, to working in publishing in London, to now writing her own Australian story which has won the 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize. I think Steph is in for an absolute cracker of a writing career ⭐️

Welcome Steph, to Mel Reviews Her Books 💖

Steph, congratulations! A published novel AND the winner of HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction! Can you share with us a little bit about your journey in applying for this book prize and what life as an author has been like since?

Thanks so much! I wrote The Love Contract during my maternity leave and then submitted it to the prize when I went back to work. The process for the Banjo Prize is that you submit the whole novel so I tried to have my manuscript in the best shape I could when I sent it off. A few months later, out of the blue, I got a call from HarperCollins to tell me that I’d won the prize and that the book was to be published. It was a truly magical moment!


Life as an author has been a whirlwind and an incredibly fun ride. There have been some massive highs – seeing the cover for the first time, holding the first real life copy, a book launch surrounded by my friends and family, doing an interview on live TV. That said, I had a 3-month-old baby when the book was published so that’s kept things very real! One of the best parts of being published has been meeting so many other talented Australian writers – it’s the most supportive gang of people!

The Love Contract had me hooked from the beginning! I absolutely adored Zoe and Hazel(nut). You’ve written the realities of motherhood in such an accurate light and formed it into a gripping plot line. Did you always know motherhood would be the leading theme in The Love Contract?

I’m so glad it had you hooked – I was so keen to write a book where the reader wants to keep turning the pages! I think when I started to write The Love Contract I knew that baby Hazel would be part of the story, as she’s the reason Zoe and Will are forced to spend so much time together. But I think it caught me a bit by surprise how much I had to say about motherhood. I think I was hungry for stories about women trying to do all the things, including career and parenting, that didn’t shy away from the really tough stuff but also showed the incredibly funny and joyous parts of parenting.

Will, what a sweetheart. With his stiff, business-like composure whenever the topic of work is discussed but then his carefree and loving nature with Hazel. He’s swoon worthy! How did the characters of Will, Zoe & Hazel come to you?

I love Will! He has a lot of qualities I find very attractive – he’s smart, acerbic and (secretly) very caring. I like that he’s a straight shooter and isn’t a people pleaser – which is a nice ballast to Zoe. I think he was inspired by people I’ve met who are incredibly brilliant at their jobs and work super hard but have never stopped to think about why they’ve chosen their particular path.

With Zoe, I really wanted to write a romantic comedy heroine who is pretty pulled together and trying to pull off the life she wants to lead – she’s just completely overwhelmed.

Honestly, I think Hazel was just inspired by how cute and funny and ridiculous babies can be!

Steph, what advice would you give to budding writers aiming to land a publishing deal or researching & applying for book prizes such as HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction?

I think my main bit of advice is to go for it! With prizes it’s worth being organised as there are different deadlines and entry requirements to keep in mind. I think (and maybe this is incredibly obvious) it’s important to always submit the best version of your story that you can, and things like craft books, writing courses, writing podcast, early readers and manuscript assessments, can really help on this front. I also think that in our busy lives carving out the time to write is always a challenge, but if you can find a consistent, small parcel of time to write every day, the words will happen!

Steph, thank you so much for sharing your time with us on Author Talks & Instagram Live Saturday 13 January 🎥 

I wish you all the best and can guarantee that I’ll be pre-ordering your next novel!

Book Review: ‘Marriage For One’ by Ella Maise

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ 1 Comment

Do you want romantic angst? ✅

Do you want a NYC cafe setting? ✅

Do you love reading about broody incessant fictional males that are hard core romantics and not at all like real men ✅ (we can always hope)

Marriage For One by Ella Maise was recently picked up and her four romance novels recovered by Pip Watkins and Simon & Schuster UK. And man, have they found a whip smart novelist!

A fellow book store regular recommended this to me on Wednesday and from the get go, I was hooked. She said she instantly fell in love with Jack and Rose’s story. Also mentioning that this was her favourite Ella Maise book she’s read thus far. Tick, tick, tick from me.

Rose and Jack are complete strangers, or so Rose thinks. She’s currently going through hell trying to navigate her Uncle’s Estate and Will, in which Rose’s is surprised to find a hidden clause. Her Uncle states that her husband will inherit a very profitable but empty building that she had all intentions of renovating into a cafe. However, the husband label hasn’t gone quite to plan in Rose’s life. Her ex-fiance dumped her over text (very sus, more on that when you read the book), her money hungry cousins are out to get any inheritance Rose is left with and squash her cafe dreams, and NOW, she has some grumpy, non-smiling lawyer guy proposing to her?!

Jack Hawthorne was not about to sit aside and let Rose lose everything she’d dreamed of, or be taken advantage of. Meeting Rose a year before, Jack had admired her from afar. Jack is one of the lawyers that closely worked with Rose’s Uncle, therefore he was aware of the current complications with the Will. Jack founded a secret and permanent idea. He would marry Rose out of convenience. He would be her husband. He would then inherit the empty building. Rose could open her dream store. No complications – a simple marriage for one. All Jack asks in return is for her to attend dinners, charity events and closing deals as his wife, giving the image of a ‘family man’ lawyer. He insisted this was good for his branding but there may or may not have been some secrets swirling around …

Shocked by the proposal and in disbelief, Rose finds her life changing immediately. Next thing we know, Jack and Rose are moving to together as a ‘married couple’ to his apartment. Rose is working day and night to finish painting, planning and baking for the cafe … with Jack’s surprisingly quiet and brooding help. They’re going to business dinners where Jack is unexpectedly quite good at laying on the PDA and passing them as a very happy newlywed couple. In private however, Rose is struggling to have any kind of get-to-know-you conversations with Jack as he resists her closeness. I liked hearing from his perspective every so often because it allowed us as the reader to see that he was trying his best to give her space and grow to like him on her own terms. Rose was slowly getting used to his frowning, gruff non verbal responses and blunt stares when her health takes a turn.

You won’t find any spoilers here book friends BUT I will say, Jack came through with the goods as a fake husband and a real one 😉 I really liked the growth of their relationship and their humour. I liked the ever present romantic tension and do-they-don’t-they feelings. I didn’t feel like Jack was written as a coercive male figure in the relationship which was a real possibility due to the circumstances of the plot, however Ella Maise pulled it off. Some readers may disagree with me on this but hey, this is romantic fiction. We know what we’re going here to read.

Finishing this book in 48 hours, on little sleep and feelings of happiness about finding a book to devour – I gave Marriage For One ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 stars!

‘The Spanish Love Deception’ by Elena Armas

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ 2 Comments

Okay so you know that chest caving, character loving, don’t touch me or talk to me or even breathe near me kind of feeling you get when reading a romance novel? Well, well, well – ‘The Spanish Love Deception’ will make your heart hurt SO MUCH in the best way possible!!

Not only will I gush to you online and in person at the book shop about this book, but I will also be shouting from the rooftops how DEVASTATED I am about having to wait 8 MONTHS before Elena Arma’s next book arrives on our shelves. Agh, the book pain is real! Elena’s next book is set to be published on the 6th of September and it is titled ‘The American Roommate Experiment’.

SOOooo Mel … get to the good part, the review!

Catalina is single and a short few weeks away from flying back to Spain for her sisters epic wedding. She moved to America in an attempt to reclaim her life and heal her broken heart after breaking up with her soon to be brother-in-law’s brother. Therefore, Catalina feels like the wedding will be a disaster if she rocks up alone. She needs to show her ex-boyfriend and her wide family that she is progressing with her life and achieving success. In walks her solution; office enemy, stubborn, rude and strangely attractive (😉😉) Aaron. He overhears Catalina’s ‘end of the world’ wedding scenario. Taking the plunge, he volunteers himself to be her date! This means flying to Spain together, pretending to be in love in front of her family, showing physical affection, sleeping in the same bed and well, keeping the arrangement hidden so Catalina’s family doesn’t suspect her love life isn’t as desperate as it actually is!

Que their ongoing love to hate relationship, and the cuteness that evolves to their falling in (actual) love. Aaron has a quiet persistence to prove how good of a ‘fake-date’ he is, but secretly and somewhat obviously, it is from a place of wanting Catalina to understand how much he really likes her. It takes a while for Catalina to see and feel that Aaron’s feelings are legitimate, but this just makes for more fun in their games of cat and mouse. Aaron is completely committed to investing in her happiness and wanting their relationship to evolve, regardless of their workplace conflict of interest. I really enjoyed their dynamic and seeing both their walls come down over time. I loved their trip to Spain and how much cultural immersion it allowed the reader to feel. I think this is a romance novel at its best.

Reading this book while suffering from a book slump really made it even more of a stand-out! I finished this book in less than 24 hours. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for and craving. Romance ✅ Love to hate banter ✅ Easy dialogue and world development ✅ Contemporary ✅ If you’re also looking for a book to soar you out of a book slump, ‘The Spanish Love Deception’ has all you, yes you, written all over it! I will 100% be re-reading this book before the end of the year.