Sophie Reads YA: November 2025

monthly summary

November Summary

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November

Stacking the Shelves: November 29th 2025

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3 Stars

ARC Review: Fixed Asset (Downrange #1) by Riley Edwards

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Fixed Asset
Series: Downrange #1
Author: Riley Edwards
Published November 4th 2025 by Montlake

Goodreads Synopsis
From USA Today bestselling author Riley Edwards comes a steamy, action-packed romance where danger and desire fuel a high-stakes game neither party is prepared to lose.

Catarina Keys doesn’t play it safe—and to hell with anyone who gets in her way. A free agent now, she takes a risky mission in Honduras, delivering high-stakes intel to a woman with an ironclad reputation. Reckless? Absolutely. But the peril of her current situation isn’t all that’s on her mind. She’s dangerously preoccupied with burning thoughts of him.

After a successful op together last year in Vegas, ex-Navy SEAL Jack Donovan thought leaving Catarina behind was the right move. It wasn’t. Now she’s back in the line of fire, and he can’t decide whether to save or spank her delectable ass. But first, he vows to uncover her mission. And whoever’s behind it.

When their paths cross again, they realize they’re pawns in a much bigger game. Jack’s desperate to protect her, but Catarina won’t give up her freedom. As the heat intensifies, will they play by the rules…or risk losing it all?
Goodreads

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

Catarina Keys knows what it takes to be a woman in a dangerous job. After all, she's put herself through risky missions time and time again to help other women be safe from predators. However, she may have bitten off more than she can chew on her latest mission in Honduras, and has been kidnapped to boot. Luckily, those who snatched her from the street include ex-Navy SEAL Jack Donovan, who Catarina had worked with in Vegas a year ago. Jack is spitting mad that Catarina has put herself in so much danger, and wants to give her a piece of his mind, or carry her off in his arms - he can't decide. As they agree to work together for the good of the mission, it's harder for them to stay professional.

Oh this was a good book. Definitely not my usual read, but I was invested in the entire gang from the moment they were all revealed. Catarina was such a strong character, but when she showed her vulnerable side with Jack, it was so heartfelt and real. There were times that their relationship was literally relationship goals, just with added danger. This book definitely set up for the rest of the series, and Mason & Calista's story especially. I can't wait to see how they're getting on in Fallen Hero.

Dates Read:
October 25-26, 2025

Rating
3 Stars

3 Stars

ARC Review: Casket Case by Lauren Evans

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Casket Case
Series: None
Author: Lauren Evans
Published September 10th 2024 by Dell/September 12th 2024 by Orion

Goodreads Synopsis
In this warm-hearted debut rom-com, a young woman returns home to run her family's casket business and falls in love with a seemingly perfect stranger. But there's just one problem . . . he works for Death.

Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she's found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.

There aren't exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton's ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions--as well as a date.

Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He's thoughtful, he's kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She's not totally sure what "logistics" entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.

When a few of Rabbittown's residents suddenly pass away--a heart attack here, a car crash there--and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?

He's a logistics coordinator for Death.

When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?

Casket Case is the heartfelt story of a small-town girl who feels surrounded by death--literally and figuratively. This clever, endearing, and romantic debut explores how love and loss are forever intertwined . . . but death might not be as scary as it seems.
Goodreads

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

Returning home to Rabbittown was not something Nora Clanton ever expected, but the deaths of her parents left her the sole owner of the family's casket business. In her sleepy town, it's not as if she's going to fall in love, when she grew up with all the viable prospects. But then there's a new arrival, who walks into her store and leaves her breathless. Garrett Bishop seems perfect, but is he too good to be true?

Right, this was weird. I'm not saying it was bad weird, but still weird nonetheless. I did know that Garrett worked for Death in some capacity when I started it, but still, it was not what I expected. I liked the whole idea of Death having 'logistics officers' around the world to deal with paperwork, etc., and especially the thought that everyone who died had someone with them to explain what was happening/about to happen. That was a really nice idea, and one big plus for the book. Garrett and Nora did have chemistry, but it was really fast how they got together, spent all their time with each other, and were exchanging 'I love yous'. The ending did make up for it, though.

Dates Read:
August 24-26, 2025

Rating
3 Stars

November

Stacking the Shelves: November 22nd 2025

10:00

4 Stars

ARC Review: Once Smitten, Twice Shy (The Wilmot Sisters #3) by Chloe Liese

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Once Smitten, Twice Shy
Series: The Wilmot Sisters #3
Author: Chloe Liese
Published January 28th 2025 by Berkley/Piatkus

Goodreads Synopsis
Star-crossed lovers learn that practicing romance leads to the perfect happy ending in this steamy reimagining of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Since heartbreak entered the scene, Juliet Wilmot, once a hopeless romantic, has sworn off love. But when she's presented with the chance to revisit romance-purely for practice-with the gorgeous, off-limits guy she keeps serendipitously running into, it feels like a sign from the universe.

Quiet, shy Will Orsino knows happily-ever-after isn't on his horizon. Problem is, for the sake of the family business, marriage is. Resigned to the inevitable, but with no confidence he can woo a wife, he can hardly say no when fate hands him the alluring, unattainable woman he keeps crossing paths with, offering to help him learn the ropes of romance.

Neither of them looking for love, Jules and Will agree they're the perfect pair to practice romance. Except that practicing to perfection leads to an irresistible attraction. Their once smitten hearts, though still twice shy, might have happily-ever-after written in the stars for them, after all.
Goodreads

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

After her breakup, Jules Wilmot has decided to swear off love and focus on herself. Taking off for Scotland, she meets the handsome Will Orsino, but they're both far way from home, and not ready for anything. So imagine her shock when she discovers Will lying down in her family's greenhouse, after taking a moment away from the bustle of his best friend, Chris' house. They're from the same city, and same social circle, so are bound to be thrown together time and time again. Agreeing to go with the flow, Will and Jules decide to accept their fate, and practice romance, so that when they meet their perfect match they are ready for love. The only problem, they might already have met them.

When I read Two Wrongs Make a Right, I knew that Jules deserved a perfect love story, and couldn't wait to see it. Twelfth Night is my favourite Shakespearean play, so this book being a homage to Viola and Duke Orsino's love story was just what I needed. Jules (who's middle name happens to be Viola) is a hopeless romantic, but her ex-fiancé ruined her self esteem, and seeing both her sisters so unbelievably in love has been hard. The fact that Will is someone who wants to find a partner, but the right one, and is in the same place as Jules is, time and time again, it's like fate is meddling in their future. I loved how perfectly matched Jules and Will were, and though they kept fighting their feelings in the name of 'practice' it was becoming harder and harder to do. I think Will fell first, and seeing the yearning from both up close and afar was worth it. There was angst, but also happiness, and a strong foundation of friendship which set them up to face on the world together. I'm sad that the series is over, but Once Smitten, Twice Shy was the best conclusion I could've asked for, for all three Wilmot sisters.

Dates Read:
September 13, 2025

Rating
4 Stars