Photo Credit: Lisa Fotios @ Pexels.

The Weekly Book Date is where I talk all things books from the past 7 days (24-30 November 2025).

It’s a three-peat for TWBD and I had a few later-than-normal nights (I’m a lightweight and in bed with my Kindle by 8pm most nights) last week thanks to watching United on TV on Monday (I want my time back!), working late on Wednesday and a two and a half hour meeting-that-should’ve-been-an-email on Thursday. I still managed to finish 2 x books and I’ve only got 7 x books to read to hit my unofficial target by 31 December.

I’m feeling lovely and Christmassy after putting my Christmas tree up on Friday. I can’t wait to get wrapped up under my duvet with my Kindle, my new obsession: peppermint bark cookies from M&S (again #notanad) and the tree all lit up in the background.

Again no 5 x Star Reads (boo!) but I’ve still got 4 x books to talk about this week including 1 x Current Read, 2 x Books Read and 1 x Added to Wish List.

ICYMI: Next Month in Books – December 2025 was uploaded on Wednesday.

Happy reading, Louise x

Currently Reading (1):

(1) Renaissance Man (Girl #2.5) (2018) (KU)

The last place ex-Special forces soldier, Kyle Musgrave, expected to find himself was in a joust at a renaissance fair. There’s a prize for winning, however—her name is Cameron and she’s just as horrified by her medieval circumstances as Kyle. She needs his help badly to escape her would-be suitors. For Kyle, that means donning uncomfortable armour, galloping to victory on a stubborn steed and claiming a reward he never expected. If she’ll have him.

My Thoughts: I’m excited about Renaissance Man because (a) Tessa Bailey is one of my favourite authors; (b) #1 in the Girl series: Getaway Girl was a Five Star Read for November 2025 and (c) it’s only 60 x pages, which means it gets me that much closer to my unofficial target.

What I Read This Week (2):

[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) A Royal Mile (Return to Dublin Street #2) (2025) (KU) [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

Going into my senior year of university at war with a member of the British royal family wasn’t in my carefully laid plans. Sebastian Thorne might be the grandson of a princess, but it’ll take more than a royal pardon to get me to forgive him for pretending to be someone he’s not.

But Sebastian is determined to be my friend. Even if it means signing up to a psych experiment just to get me to talk to him. Who knew a sincere apology and him saying my name in that posh English accent would make me weak in the knees?

This year was supposed to be about my dissertation and graduate school. Only, Sebastian has thrown my ordered world off kilter. He makes me bolder, more confident. A braver version of me.

Yet every lingering glance and stolen touch has me realizing one thing…

I’m falling for my best friend.

There’s just one problem. Sebastian has demons, ones that make him determined to keep me in the friend zone no matter the cost.

And even when temptation sends his walls tumbling down, the beauty we’ve found might not survive against the powerful will of outside forces…

Tags: Favourite Author / Friends-to-Lovers / Royal

(2) Hot Shot (Roseville Ramblers #2) by Staci Hart (2025) (KU) [image error] [image error] [image error]

Never thought I’d agree to a marriage of convenience to my hot, firefighter ex-boyfriend. Especially after he casually informs me we’ve been married for ten years.

Ten years ago, Wilder and I were so in love that we got married in Vegas for one night only before leaving for college on different sides of the world. He was supposed to mail the annulment papers. Problem is, he didn’t. Worse? He didn’t tell me. Not even when I came back to town to marry another man.

But now he needs my help, and I can’t say no. All I have to do is have to pretend in front of the whole town like we’re married. Hold hands. Kiss. Not throw myself at him when he looks at me like I’m the only woman in the world.

My body might remember him, but the rest of me isn’t ready. Because I’m just learning how to find myself, and if I get wrapped up in Wilder’s world, I’ll lose more than my heart—I’ll lose everything.

Again.

Tags: Favourite Author / Marriages of Convenience / Second Chance / Vegas Weddings

Added to Wish List (2):

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

(1) The Deal Maker by Louise Bay (17 March 2026)

Lucy Jones is tired of being the “other sister.” Elizabeth is the golden child—beautiful, serene, and engaged to the perfect man. Lucy? She’s thirty, single, and still dodging her mother’s digs about how she never quite measures up. But when Elizabeth names Lucy as her maid of honour, she vows her sister’s wedding will be her grand rebrand. She’ll prove she’s polished, sophisticated, and totally in control.

Enter Hunter Bain. Best man. Business bro. Walking scowl emoji. Also the rudest, most aggravating man Lucy has ever met—and her new partner in planning the joint bachelor/bachelorette weekend. Fantastic. Because nothing says “reinvent yourself” like clashing with a man who thinks party planning is beneath him.

From drunken disasters to shenanigans on Martha’s Vineyard, Lucy and Hunter can’t stop butting heads. Until one impulsive lie forces them to pretend they’re dating. It’s supposed to be temporary. It’s supposed to be fake. But every lingering glance, every stolen kiss, every unexpected laugh makes it harder to remember what’s real and what’s not.

Tags: Fake Dating / Favourite Author