Red-Haired Ash Reads

Sydney Marlow is making big changes in her life, including retiring from her modeling career and selling her cosmetic company. Now she is determined to live her true dream of becoming a traditional wife and starting a family, but first she has to find a man which hopefully she can find in her new neighborhood. What she doesn’t expect is to start falling for her grumpy neighbor. 

This was another cute Nocturne Falls romance. Adam and Sydney were neighbors who both have the dream of the traditional family and kids, but one thing is never going to happen and the other is trying to make it happen. I don’t usually love romances where the main characters whose main goals are getting married and having kids, but I did enjoy this one for the most part. 

Adam Rockford is only supposed to be in Nocturne Falls for six months while he figures out what he wants to do with his life. His plans to return to Chicago are soon looking more daunting as he gets to know his neighbor and quickly starts falling for her. I liked Adam, especially his instant adoption of a dog who trusted him. Also he never judges Sydney for her previous career and automatically accepts and strives to help with Sydney’s dreams. 

Sydney is a woman who knows what she wants out of life and is finally making it happen now that she has the funds to do it. I liked how independent and determined she was to fulfill her dreams and to make her house into a home. Sydney is human in a monster town though so the third act breakup is her struggling to come to terms with this new world and that she is in love with a gargoyle. I did like that once she accepted him she went all in and even worked to help Adam fulfill one of his dreams. 

The villain in this ends up being an ex who was determined to not let them go. I thought it was an interesting burst of tension, but I also was expecting more from this confrontation. We see the evil happen on page but the capture and stopping of this ex was all off page and barely mentioned. It was disappointing that we didn’t get to find out how they stopped them or what the council ended up doing to them. 

Overall, this was another enjoyable Nocturne Falls romance. I do wish we had seen a bit more information about the villain’s capture and punishment but I still enjoyed the book overall. I look forward to reading the next one. 

TW: toxic ex-girlfriend; manipulation and loss of control from magic;

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

#1 The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride
#2 The Werewolf Meets His Match
#3 The Gargoyle Gets His Girl
#4 The Professor Woos His Witch
#4.5 The Witch’s Halloween Hero
#4.6 The Werewolf’s Christmas Wish
#5 The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée
#5.5 The Vampire’s Valentine Surprise
#6 The Shifter Romances the Writer
#6.5 The Vampire’s True Love Trials
#7 The Dragon Finds Forever
#8 The Vampire’s Accidental Wife
#9 The Reaper Rescues the Genie
#10 The Detective Wins the Witch
#11 The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure
#12 The Werewolf Dates the Deputy
#13 The Siren Saves the Billionaire
#14 The Vampire’s Sunny Sweetheart
#15. Death Dates the Oracle
#16. The Vampire’s Former Flame
#16.5 The Witch’s Christmas Catastrophe