Category: Romance - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Cheaters & Fake Daters

6/10/2026

Heartbreakers and Fakers by Cameron Lund

Penny had the perfect senior year planned. The most popular guy in school is her boyfriend and the most popular girl in school is her BFF. So why did she apparently cheat by kissing Kai, her BFF's boyfriend, at a party? Penny is hungover and confused. Worse still, everyone KNOWS what she did. Her reputation needs salvaging STAT - and it turns out that people think she and Kai were destined anyway. The solution? Fake date Kai for a while. He seems keen. What could go wrong?

Oh this was so messy. But it was delightfully messy. I say this is someone who normally has no patience of FMCs who cheat. Somehow, Lund made it work. I'm seriously impressed! She understands how teens can be so stupid but are learning and growing, that teens make bad choices but should be allowed to improve themselves instead of wearing a negative label forever. I did see a certain plot development coming early on, sure. Except I was like "oh this is BRILLIANT I love it bring on the extra mess". Anyway, Lund did the impossible and made me enjoy a storyline featuring a cheater. Damn, she's good.

The No-Thanks Project

5/10/2026

The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson

Mia desperately needs a date to her bridezilla sister's wedding or she'll be forced to spend the night with a horrible boy. So Mia's friends come up with a plan. They'll arrange a series of "meet-cutes" with random boys and whoever's ploy works wins a gift card. But Mia quickly discovers that love can't be forced or tricked into being. Will she managed to land a date in time? Especially with so much else going on in her life?

I've read many traditionally published debut YA novels in my time and few are as half baked as this one. It needed some serious reworking. However, I doubt this would've made me like the book. All of the characters are seriously unlikeable, though I will give Mia a pass for being a tween (yes, I too have met a complete stranger for a date at that age - and it was a terrible decision lol. My point is, it's a good plot point for a YA novel). The big issue for me was the family dynamics. It made me incredibly uneasy the whole time.

Spoilers ahoy. Mia's sister expects her to help her with a wedding (why? you've got bridesmaids who are adults and actually want to help you?) and puts Mia in a terrible position. Dude. This boy she was going to be forced to go to the wedding with keeps sexually harassing her and it's not mentioned how bad this is??? Mia is also forced to go to a bachelorette party where all the adults get drunk and somehow it's her responsibility afterwards to fix her sister's fuck up?? I just. No. And I won't get into how neglectful Mia's parents are. Sheesh. I mean, maybe if this had been called out more... anyway, no wonder Mia is so grumpy and stressed all the time. None of the adults in her life are decent role models or bother to understand her.

Oof. Didn't mean to rant that much. In a nutshell, this YA novel was not for me.

Delighted & Beknighted

22/8/2026

One Knight Stand (Lady's Knight #2)
by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Gwen is now renowned as Lady Dragonslayer, a knight in search of more monsters to slay. With her, as always, is Lady Isabelle - still hoping to find a way to escape her guardian, Lord Whimsitt. His latest cruelty is sending Gwen and Isobel out again, without proper rest, so that Gwen can put her seal of approval on a seaside town's tourism venture. But a true enemy awaits them there...

What an utterly delightful sequel that manages to terrify and swoon-ify by equal measure. Gwen and Isobelle feel like old friends of mine by this point and I enjoy spending time with them (even when they're being frustrating about their feelings...but that's YA love for you, ha!). How I wish I'd had these books as a teen. Even now, as an adult, I adore them. There's more than a mere dash of magic here.

Cue "Across the Stars"

10/8/2026

Eyes Like Stars (Star Wars Disney)
by Ashley Poston

Ardent Quay was just looking for the last instalment of her favourite series, but instead she finds trouble - in the form of Sian, an archeologist in need of a quick escape from the First Order. Ardent helps him stowaway on her father's tour ship and soon things get even more complicated when her brother reappears after an absence. Ardent's life may now be in danger... and so too is her heart.

I absolutely adore YA sci-fi/romance and I also adore Poston's YA novels, so this purchase was pretty much a foregone conclusion for me. It's a fun ride that doesn't really deviate from the usual genre blueprints. There's no real surprises here. However, the Star Wars setting is what truly makes it an engaging read... visit the planets you know and planets you don't know. Encounter legendary heroes and villains (happily, they aren't overused here). And fall in love like you're a teenager..

A Daisy By Any Other Name

1/8/2026

The Daisy Chain Flower Shop (Dream Harbor #6)
by Laurie Gilmore

The whole town of Dream Harbour seems convinced that Daisy is cursed. If she does the flowers for a wedding, the marriage doesn't last. No one wants to hire a cursed florist and Daisy might have to give up on the family business. Unless... enter Elliot, who she enters into a fake relationship with in order improve her image. But is it a curse she needs to shed - or it is just her own fears?

Here in this book you will find another pleasant detour to Dream Harbour, courtesy of two characters who are adorable with and without each other. I will say that it wasn't the strongest instalment of the series. It seemed to need a little more polishing and a bit more of a structural edit... I do wonder if these books aren't being cranked out a little too fast at this point. But if you're a Dream Harbour fan, you'll enjoy The Daisy Chain Flower Shop.

Reliable Old Magic

27/7/2026

Movie Magic at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop (Wildest Dreams Bookshop #3)
by Gracie Page

Mia believes in cinematic moments and happy endings, which is why she's so excited that her favourite book is being turned into a movie - and is being filmed right in Fox Bay! She wants to snag a job on set and maybe go further with her career, but there's a problem. Freddie. The film bro who doesn't like romance. Her competition. Is this supposed to be her big romance? Mia doesn't think so!

This YA/NA series is a fun, safely predictable bit of escapism and this instalment neatly fits the bill. Once again, I find myself wishing that I was in a small seaside town populated by the characters that can be found at the Wildest Dreams bookshop. I will admit that I'm starting to tire of these teen protagonists who all seem to feel the same... but it's still a pleasant read, regardless.

Have Camera, Will Travel

2/6/2026

Island in the Sun by Katie Fforde

Katie barely arrives at her father's isolated Scottish home when he sends her off to hurricane-stricken Dominica, accompanied by Ranulph, her father's dishy neighbour. Katie and Ranulph need to locate a petroglyph of great cultural importance. But it won't be an easy journey. The island is in upheaval, a rival is trying to sabotage them and Ranulph doesn't return Katie's feelings. Or does he?

Katie Fforde's novels are always a pleasant dose of escapism and this one is no different. The Dominican setting is the real star here... admittedly at the detriment of the characters and the plot. Katie and Ranulph's relationship really didn't get the chance to develop properly and various other elements also felt unfinished. Still, it managed to be an enjoyable read at times.

Rom-Com Gore Core

3/4/2026

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson

Jamie is a huge fan of slasher flicks and rom-coms. She's also convinced they are pretty much the same. Anyway, what are the odds that she'll end up in a situation that combines both? Pretty high, as it turns out. When she and her friend head to a speed dating event, they're catapulted right into the most horrific, romantic situation ever. Jamie must use her cinematic knowledge to survive the night.

If you're a Millennial movie fan like me, you will grin at all the references (yes, I too can quote much of While You Where Sleeping, like Jamie can) and find yourself having fun as you follow the formula that Thompson lays out for you. This is definitely an entertaining read. I won't say it's brilliant and despite not being a horror fan I figured things out early on, but it's a nice little diversion.

EDIT: Oh, alright. I might not be a horror fan but I have seen a fair few of these films and know how they work, because I have friends like Jamie lol

Bridgerton It Ain't

1/4/2026

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (Bevelstoke #1)
by Julia Quinn

Miranda Cheever has been in love with Turner (AKA Nigel Bevelstoke) ever since she was a child. How can she possibly have a London season with him at her side, especially as he just lost his (admittedly awful) wife? Not to mention that kiss! It's clear that proximity might be the undoing of them both. Miranda's heart is in as much danger as her virtue. Will Turner finally man up and speak his feelings?

Sometimes I forget that while Bridgerton might be wonderful, some of Quinn's books are not.

Turner is extremely unlikeable as a hero. He sexually assaults the heroine near the start of the book! He even uses the world "assault"! Then he is incredibly pushy, which made me anxious on Miranda's behalf. I cannot call what they had between them love or anything like it. I do not even know how their relations reacted to such a shotgun wedding, because we never get to see those moments. I will say, however, that the last chapters of the book are actually quite sweet (even if Turner is still bloody annoying as he sorts his shit out).

False Advertising Strikes Again

24/1/2026

Snowed in at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop (The Wildest Dreams Bookshop #2)
by Gracie Page

Ivy was desperate to get out of Fox Bay and into art college, but her first term was a disaster. So she finds herself back home for the winter break, working in the Wildest Dreams Bookshop. Fox Bay can be pretty weird on its own, but the upstairs holidaymakers may even be weirder. Trip, one of said holidaymakers, is so infuriatingly optimistic. There's no way they can get along...or can they?

First of all, that's a very misleading title and it was so obviously an intentional ploy to hook a certain audience. I'm so tired of publishers pulling this shit. I seriously don't trust any of you anymore. Fast sales are apparently more important than building up reader loyalty... Ahem. Regardless, I enjoyed this sequel, which felt comfortably New Adult (unlike the first book, which had a weird vibe), and I connected with it on a personal level because I'd have related to Ivy if I was younger. It's a light, pleasantly entertaining read.