Photo Credit: Lisa Fotios @ Pexels.

The Weekly Book Date is where I talk all things books from the past 7 days (10-16 November 2025).

Am I really doing this again? I’ve stopped and then started back up again with The Weekly Book Date so many times, the best I can commit to is I hope so *shrugs*

I’ve just had a week’s annual leave (there were 2 x heartbreaking anniversaries) and I guess it’s no surprise given that books have always been my favourite distraction that I got back into reading again. I didn’t just finish 4 x books but there were also 2 x Five Star Reads and I’ve got the patience of a toddler on Christmas Eve so I wanted to talk about them before the end of the month.

I’ve seen a lot of posts on Instagram recently talking about their 10 Before the End but I want to be a teensy bit more ambitious and try and read 11 before the fireworks go off on New Year’s Eve. I was very much a pessimist (who, moi?) when I set my Goodreads Challenge to read 75 x books in 2025. I’ve read 139 so far so I want to see if I can double my target and get to 150. At the moment, I think it’s doable but who knows, I might end up speed-reading picture books in the library (By My Side, Little Panda anyone?) if I’m struggling.

Anyway, I’ve got lots of talk about this week with 6 x books: 1 x Current Read, 4 x Books Read and 1 x Added to Wish List.

Happy reading, Louise x

Currently Reading (1):

(1) Where You’re Planted by Melanie Sweeney (2025) (Kindle Book Deal)

A single mum. A grumpy gardener. Can they let love bloom?

Busy librarian and single mum Tansy Perkins doesn’t have time for love – she’s either lost in a book or in a pile of homework.

Grumpy gardener Jack Reid has sworn off relationships since his divorce. Right now, he’s only interested in growing flowers, not feelings.

So when a hurricane forces Tansy to move her library into Jack’s pristine botanic gardens, it’s safe to say that neither of them are thrilled by this new distraction. But soon the chemistry between them grows impossible to ignore …

Will they dig in their heels, or let love take root?

Tags: Florists & Gardeners / Librarians / Single Parents

What I Read This Week (4):

[image error] (Hated It)

[image error] [image error] (Didn’t Like It)

[image error] [image error] [image error] (It Was OK)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] (Liked It)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] (Loved It)

(1) Christmas on Fifth Avenue (Christmas Escapes #1) by Julie Caplin (2025) (Kindle) [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

Evie Green’s Christmas dream turns into a nightmare when a viral video makes her the laughing stock of the internet. But then a 5 star hotel sees a PR opportunity and invites her to New York for a Christmas she’ll remember forever.

Enter Noah Sanderson, a disgraced soccer star seeking anonymity. Forced to fake a festive romance for the cameras, sparks fly – but not the twinkling Christmas kind!

As Fifth Avenue sparkles in all its holiday glory, can The City that Never Sleeps show these two frosted hearts that, maybe, the best love stories are the ones you never see coming.

Tags: Christmas / Fake Dating / Favourite Author / Football / Grief / Sports Romance / Travel

(2) Still Into You by Erin Connor (12 February 2026) (NetGalley) [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

When elusive metal frontman Dax Nakamura agrees to give his first interview in years, he has one condition: his ex, Sloane Donavan, has to write it.

Punk rock’s most notorious and elusive frontman, Dax Nakamura, is ready to set the record straight – about his band, his life, and what happened that summer. But the only person he trusts to tell his story is the ex he hasn’t spoken to in years, Sloane Donavan.

Sloane has been writing about music since she posted her first MySpace blog. A journalism degree, a failed internship, and countless backstage passes later, Sloane still hasn’t secured the dream job she left her dream man behind for. So when he reappears with a career-making opportunity, Sloane agrees with one stipulation: their past must stay in the past.

As Dax opens up, old feelings resurface, and Sloane’s journalistic integrity hangs in the balance. The article Dax wants and the salacious tell-all Sloane’s editor expects are two completely different stories. This is the big break she’s been waiting for, but it comes with a price – the chance to rewrite the ending with her first and only love.

Tags: ARC / Five Star Reads / Musicians / Muse / Second Chance

My Thoughts: ARC received via NetGalley.

I couldn’t be further from a metal fan but Final Revelations have been added to my list of Fictional Bands I Wish Were Real. Sloane’s passion for their music is infectious. I can totally understand why she’d be so focused on making her own dreams of being a staff writer at Rolling Stone come true given what happened with her parents even at the expense of her first summer romance with Dax. But wow, there are so many sparks coming off Sloane and Dax when they meet for the second first time at Battle of the Bands I’m only surprised it didn’t short circuit the electrics.

I liked how the history of Final Revelations was written in the individual band members’ voices which reminded me of Daisy Jones & the Six. Dax is a beautiful, messy love interest. My heart ached when I read about his demons growing up biracial and joining the band at such a young age, the estrangement from his family and imposter syndrome. After an unscrupulous writer capitalises on his struggles to make themselves famous, I get why the band would refuse to do any more interviews and it’s a sign of how much he trusts Sloane even though they haven’t seen each other since their break-up three years ago that Dax trusts her with their Final interview.

It’s obvious that Sloane sees the real Dax and in turn, she can be 100 percent herself with him. I think the fact that Sloane’s demisexual showcased this perfectly because Dax took his his time to win her trust before their physical relationship progressed. It made it that much hotter when they did get intimate.

I enjoyed getting to know the members of Post Humorous, Sloane’s besties and her in to the music industry and it would be amazing if we could get a follow-up with Brooklyn.

(3) Anne of Avenue A (For the Love of Austen #3) by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding (2025) (Kindle) [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan for the sake of adventure. But despite big dreams, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home with hardly a plan in sight. Anne tries to be optimistic—she knows better than anyone that regret will get you nowhere—but that goes out the window when, thanks to her father’s bad spending habits, her childhood apartment is rented out to the very man still living in her head rent-free.

Freddie Wentworth never thought he would see Anne Elliot again after she dumped him for accepting a job overseas. He spent years trying to forget her, and he’s been mostly successful. So when a job opportunity takes him back to New York, he’s shocked to find out that Anne is not only his new neighbour, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse.

Nearly a decade after Anne and Freddie’s fateful romance, the only thing they still have in common is a desire to leave their relationship firmly in the past. But between a disastrous off-Broadway show and a drunken Thanksgiving dinner, nosey neighbours, and flirtatious friends, Anne and Freddie suddenly find their lives more intertwined than ever before. When old feelings start rising to the surface, they must decide whether to put their hearts on the line or walk away all over again.

Tags: Christmas / Modern Retelling (Persuasion by Jane Austen) / Second Chance

(4) Getaway Girl (Girl #1) by Tessa Bailey (2018) (Kindle) [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

After a six-year absence, Addison Potts is back in Charleston to stir things up. And what better place to make her villainous return than her estranged cousin’s wedding? Only, the nuptials hit a snag when the bride doesn’t show, leaving Addison to play getaway driver for Elijah, the jilted groom. A groom whose heartbreaking smile and deep, southern drawl she should not be noticing…

Elijah Montgomery Du Pont is the future mayor of Charleston. From his military career to city hall, every detail of his life has been meticulously planned. Until now. His only respite from life’s sudden upheaval is Addison, his new, improbable best friend. She makes him happy. Grounds him. And public disapproval be damned, he’s not willing to give her up. But with an election on the line and public pressure rising, Addison—and the cruel hand of fate—might not give him a choice.

Tags: Favourite Author / Five Star Reads / Political Romances

My Thoughts: Despite Tessa Bailey being one of my favourite authors, I hadn’t read any of the Girl series until I saw Getaway Girl was on sale for 99p and I’m so glad I bought it because it has everything I love about romance novels.

I had a girl crush on Addison from the get-go when she sneaks into the back of the church for her estranged cousin, Naomi’s wedding to future mayor, Elijah. Addison and her grandmother were cut off from the rest of the family after Addison’s mom had an affair with Naomi’s dad, which may or may not have ended up with Addison’s conception. I love the idea of Jingle Balls, her grandmother’s market stall selling risque Christmas ornaments all year around.

Addison has put up a lot of barriers to protect herself but when Elijah is jilted at the altar, she offers him a ride and a place to stay while he figures out what he’s going to do next away from concerned well-wishers and the glare of the media. It’s cute how Elijah’s got a fancy three-storey mansion waiting for him to move in to but he feels more at home with Addison in her two-bedroom apartment.

I really enjoyed the banter as Addison and Elijah become friends first despite the chemistry between them immediately being Off. The Charts. As you’d expect from a Tessa Bailey novel, the sex scenes are extra-spicy but what I loved most is there are so many scenes which made my heart squeeze from the two of them sat on Addison’s bed making Christmas ornaments and her saving the big buttons for him to glue on to the snowmen to him destroying the bed he’d ordered with Naomi with an axe so Addison would feel comfortable sleeping there with him. Plus I’m always a sucker for a scene where the FMC gets the flu and the MMC takes care of her *swoon*

It’s funny how concerned Elijah is about the size of his butt (it’s even got it’s own Twitter account) and it’s a running joke through the book.

I don’t want to spoil anything but I was conflicted at the end (in the best way) because I wanted to savour every moment but at the same time, turn the pages as quickly as I could to make sure there was going to be a HEA. The feels kept on coming with the epilogue, which was perfect.

Added to Wish List (1):

For a full list of the future books on my Wish List, check out  Upcoming Releases .

(1) The Kosher Conundrum (Last Girls Standing #4) by Stacey Agdern (14 January 2026)

When disaster strikes, it’s time to make a fake dating scheme with her best friend.

Wedding and event planner Naomi Nachman’s carefully planned life just went up in smoke. When her impossible boss suddenly retires, cancelling a multitude of contracts, Naomi’s career and her cousin’s wedding are tanked in one fell swoop. Now Naomi must rebuild her reputation and save the wedding by turning to the one man she can trust.

Jason Greenblatt is facing his own career crisis. Thanks to one tabloid-style photo, his traditional family thinks he’s more playboy than professional chef. He needs to prove himself or his hopes to work in his family’s celebrated knish business will slip out of reach, which is the only reason he entertains Naomi’s audacious proposal.

But as they work together to fix the broken pieces of their lives, sparks fly and the fake partnership begins to feel real, Naomi and Jason discover that the toughest challenge isn’t salvaging reputations or even staging the perfect kosher celebration. It’s risking their hearts.

Tags: Chefs (Male) / Fake Dating / Favourite Author / Friends-to-Lovers / Jewish / Wedding Planners