Lia Riley

Auden is looking for the perfect story to land her dream job at an outdoor adventure magazine. Little does she know she’ll run into mountaineer, Rhys MacAskill and that his story may just be the perfect one for her to tell. Now that she’s gotten close to Rhys, will she be able to use him to advance her own career? What if he finds out she’s thought about it?

Every time I think Ms. Riley can’t top her last book, I’m proven wrong once again! With Every Breath consumed me, my world show more narrowed down to only Rhys and Auden. It wasn’t completely about the hero, but the heroine too. Their interaction was always heart-wrenching and kept me joyfully trapped within the pages of the book. Ms. Riley customizes her stories with an intensity and depth that allow you to dive right into her world and stay there, completely at home in your private comfort zone. Her writing groove just keeps getting better and deeper, more enthralling with each book. With Every Breath sucked me right in and didn’t let me escape (not that I wanted to), until the very last page. To say I loved it would be a complete understatement! 5 Stars! show less

Harriet is a computer programmer and AI developer, and Gale is her childhood friend turned hockey player who's in a playing slump. When Harriet enlists Gale to help beta test her AI sports performance enhancement program, things take a romantic turn despite Harriet's best efforts to keep things professional. This was a quick read with good pacing and enough going on to keep me engaged. It's an interesting premise but the execution was a little formulaic in places (there's a lot of typical show more "falling in love with my best friend's sibling" angst going on here). The concept of AI becoming sentient is not new, but having it play matchmaker (while also not new) is a fun twist. 2nd in a series, but it works fine as a standalone. I've read the first book in the series, and in this book the author continues to employ the intelligent woman/dude-bro dynamic. It's not my favorite, but I think it works a little better in this book since the two MCs have an established friendship and background. The "bro" personality characteristics aren't quite so blatant with Gale as they were with Tuck, and he feels like he has more depth. I will say that you should definitely suspend disbelief with the science around how the AI works, you'll just distract yourself with questions that will take you out of the story. This was an entertaining open-door romance with an HEA, perfect if you're looking for an enjoyable weekend of escapist reading. Publishes December 2, 2025. This review was based on a complimentary eARC of the story, all opinions are my own. show less

I really liked this book! I started reading it months ago and it just wasn’t working for me at the time. I decided to give it another try and had a great time with it this time around. If you have been following my reviews for any amount of time, you probably already know that I have a bit of a soft spot for hockey romances. Breezy and Jed were great characters and I couldn’t wait to see them fall for each other.

Breezy works as a children’s librarian and is one of Jed West’s biggest show more fans. She is shocked to see him fill in at a library appearance, thanks to her journalist sister. Jed saves the day when Breezy has a wardrobe malfunction by loaning his jacket. The pair start to form a connection when he stops by her house to retrieve his jacket and stays for a bit. I loved these two together and thought that they had fantastic chemistry.

I am a fan of Vanessa Edwin’s narration and was excited to see that she narrated this book along with new-to-me narrator, Alexander Cendese. I didn’t love the voices that the male narrator used for the female voices but that is my only complaint. Overall, I thought that the narration was well done. I especially appreciated the female narrator’s range of voices and thought that both narrators added the right amount of emotion to their reading.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a fun hockey romance. It was great getting to know both of these characters and I was quickly invested in their blooming romance. I wouldn’t hesitate to read more books in this series.

I received a review copy of this book from Hachette Audio. show less

The E.M.M.A. Effect by Lia Riley
Regals Hockey series #2. Contemporary romance, romantic comedy. Best friend’s brother troupe. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Harriet Smythe has always has a crush on her best friend’s younger brother. Using him to prove her AI program is viable will take a little convincing, but this is her future! Getting a little too close to Gale is just a minor misstep and nothing to worry about. Her AI program will pinpoint what’s needed to improve his game and they show more will go their separate ways. Nothing to worry about! Until the AI insists they Harriet is the answer to Gale’s regaining peak performance. And wow, does he know it. He’ll follow her every demand.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and audiobook for this story. The narration is a duet (voices in conversation) by Alexander Cendese, Brittany Pressley, and Samantha Summers. I love duet narration though I know it’s more expensive and difficult for the actors. The simulation of conversations in a duet format brings the characters to life and interacting as if watching a play. All three performers were easy to listen to and brought emotions to the forefront. We heard how much Gale yearned and while knowing Harriet was super smart, we heard her anxiety in being matched with Gale from the AI program. The intimacy scenes were intense hearing the two voices together.
Definitely the choice of format if you love audiobooks. I did listen at 1.5 and slightly higher to be closer to my reading speed.

Smart women know how to handle their own desires. Harriet has created an innovative AI program and she’s going to prove it to the right company. Harriet also likes to be dominant in a relationship and Gale is all in. Harriet needs to realize she can have it all if she wants it.
Shivers and steam, confidence is just a couple steps ahead.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher HarperAudio Adult. show less