Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

This is a steamy single-dad/nanny romance with Black main characters - and great representation, this was! I appreciated that unlike a lot of other Black romance books out there, the book was written with slang. It didn't feel like we just took a romance book about white people and then plopped in diversity and some food - it felt like this was written by a Black author who took two characters from very different cultures (Southern/religious) and big city (Chicago) and found a way to write a super hot and steamy book, without falling into any tropes that were one dimensional. If you love a good steamy single dad/age-gap novel, this one's for you.

Harlequin - Romance | Afterglow Books by Harlequin and NetGalley provided an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I saw the cute cover,bread the blurb, and thought that I’d probably like this book since I’m a Black romance super fan and I enjoy single parent stories. I was wrong; I LOVED it! Church Girl delivered heart, humor, heat, and a perfectly paced plot. I cannot wait to reread this with my bookish besties when it gets released.

Some of my favorite things:
✅ Grumpy MMC with a hidden heart of gold
✅ Sunshiny MMC with backbone
✅ An age gap that *doesn’t* make me cringe
✅ Spicy scenes that don’t disappoint


My not so favorite things?
➖ I would have loved an epilogue so I could spend a tiny bit more time with this story.

Overall, this was a fantastic read.


#ChurchGirl
#NetGalley

These two have problems with impulse control! Especially around each other, because as much as they think no, no, no, they continue on with yes, yes, yes. I loved them both for it though, as they weren’t so much push and pull, as a consistent descent into falling for each other. It was inevitable, as the heat between them was absolutely electric and constantly sparking. Add in one very sweet, cute, and adorable little girl, and this HEA was going to happen, no matter what!

I picked this up on a whim and was not sure if I would like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I might even read a few more books by Naima Simone.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Harlequin finally changed up from their regular books and it worked for them! This book was modern, fun and relatable. Aaliyah is a last pastors daughter who always does as her parents ask her. Even if its agreeing to marry a man she doesnt love. The story jumps rkghr in with Aaliyah running on her wedding day and being on the doorstep of her, black sheep, cousin Tamara. Eventually she convinces Tamara to bring her back to Chicago with her and leave the small.towm in Alabama behind. She starts college for art there as it was another thing she wasn't allowed to do at home but quickly realizes that it's more expensive to live there and applies for a nanny job at a tattoo parlor because the 'dad' owns it. She gets the job and while there is definitely immediate attraction and interest both fight it because of the little girl Gia and because of each other's baggage. Von had been through a messy helpful divorce and Aaliyah with the overbearing parents anz wanting to have freedom she's never had before. After some time the attraction gets the best of them (maybe drinking at a strip club together not the best idea if trying to remain friends lol) anyways they end up having to dighr for each other but in a 3rd act heartbreak Von let's Aaliyah down. Will they get back together? Read to find out lol anyways the only thing I didn't enjoy about this book was actually something that REALLY aggravated me, it was the US's of the word Nut during sexy time. It was almost comical it wasn't sexy at all and the word was over used for sure. Besides sexy time scenes needing more and better terminology the book was a great change of pace for Harlequin

This was a fun read and I can definitely see it being a success once published. Von was… a lot. And sometimes that lot felt like too much but he was surely smitten for Aaliyah. It was kind of cute to watch Aaliyah do his head in like she did. I’m glad she found her voice and herself. It was long overdue.