Sophie Reads YA

ARC Review: Love Locked In (A Lock Story #1) by Toni Aleo

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Love Locked In
Series: A Lock Story #1
Author: Toni Aleo
Published February 14th 2026

Goodreads Synopsis
She writes love stories. He’s afraid to live one.

In Holiday Ridge, a love that survives Lock Night is a love worth keeping.

Maggie Welch writes happily-ever-afters for a living, but when it comes to her own heart, she’s wonderfully unlucky. A best-selling romance author with a failed marriage living in a town full of promises she no longer believes in, Maggie has sworn off love… even as she watches couples lock theirs in at Promise Pond.

Dermot Aldridge has built his life on control. A quiet, distant doctor with a bruised heart and a deep love of romance novels, he prefers the safety of books, his dog, and solitude. Love is something he reads about… not something he’ll ever risk again.

Until a freak accident involving a ladder, a concussion, and a very unfortunate stone sculpture throws Maggie straight into Dermot’s arms.

Forced proximity turns into late-night conversations, stolen glances, and a connection neither of them expected. But with Lock Night approaching and both of them carrying scars from the past, opening their hearts may be the biggest risk of all.

Because in Holiday Ridge, love isn’t just promised.
It hangs on a fence as a constant reminder…
Is this forever?
Or just an empty promise?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via BookSirens. This in no way impacted on my view.

Though she's an award winning romance author, Maggie Welch has never been in love herself. She's grown up seeing how her parent's love story sparked a craze in town, and wants more than anything to have a romance which survives Lock Night. Maggie's always had her eye on the handsome doctor next door, Dermot, but she's too shy to make a move. So when a freak accident involving a ladder, and a stone phallus, result in her needing medical attention, Maggie makes her move. Dermot knows that Maggie is his favourite author, and he's drawn to her like never before. But he's shy and quiet, and can't imagine someone as beautiful as Maggie will want him, right?

This was definitely the book to read on Valentine's Day this year. Maggie and Dermot were such a sweet couple, and though not completely similar, they were complementary to each other. Yes, they made mistakes, and it wasn't an absolutely perfect love story, but it was real and theirs. I liked the premise of Maggie's family being love royalty in the town, and think that the rest of her siblings will likely be the protagonists of other books in the series. I hope so at least, because it would be nice to return to Holiday Ridge.

Dates Read:
February 14, 2026

Rating
3 Stars

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ARC Review: Inked Playboy Next Door (Men of Mill Creek #2) by Elodie Ashwood

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Inked Playboy Next Door
Series: Men of Mill Creek #2
Author: Elodie Ashwood
Published February 23rd 2026

Goodreads Synopsis
It was reckless. No names. No strings.
A night I've dreamed about ever since.
Now my fantasy lives next door.

I came to Mill Creek to disappear.
New town. New job.
A quiet life where the biggest crisis is a cat with a [nosy] owner problem.

Then the bartender next door came home from abroad.

Tattooed. Shirtless — I mean shameless.
Grinning at me like he knows exactly what I sound like when I fall apart.
Because he does.

He’s chaos wrapped in ink and a dangerous smile.
He's loud when I need silence. Reckless when I crave control.
He calls me wildflower like it's a dare.

But he sees me — not the version I perform for everyone else.
The one who wears black lace under pearl buttons and pretends she doesn't burn when he's close.

I swore I'd never let another man have power over me.
Gabe doesn't want power.
He wants me.
I'm finally learning what it feels like to be chosen instead of controlled.

But the man I ran from just found my new address.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via Booksprout. This in no way impacted on my view.

Dr Lillian Rockwell fled Chicago, and her abused ex, for the small town of Mill Creek, and she is finally finding her feet as a veterinarian six months later. Her colleagues and friends are all kind and welcoming, and Lillian can finally breathe again. However, she can't stop thinking of the steamy night she spent with a stranger when she first arrived, and both her dreams and nightmares come true when she finds out he is her new neighbour, newly returned from Japan, and he is not about to lose her gain. Gabe Thomas has always been known as a bit of a player, but his night with his wildflower before he left for Japan has stayed with him, and he knows that if he finds her, he will do anything to be worthy of her. But meeting Lillian as his neighbour, and new to town, he soon realises there is more than meets the eye, and she is running from something. Will Gabe be able to prove his worthiness, or will he fail her?

As soon as I saw that the second book in this series was available for review, I couldn't stop myself from requesting it. I loved the townsfolk of Mill Creek in the first book, and seeing how Lillian and Gabe fit with them all in Inked Playboy Next Door, I was so happy. Lillian might be new, but she fit with Lexie, Jenna, and Shauna so well. They really became true friends, who had each other's backs through thick and thin. And there were plenty of ups and downs in the book. It was refreshing to see the way that they didn't shy away from pain, and some of the plot lines are clearly setting up for subsequent books. I really hope that Jenna and Travis' book is next - they definitely have the enemies to lovers trope down to a hat!

Dates Read:
February 11-12, 2026

Rating
4 Stars