Francesca:
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There is just something about a romance set on a farm.
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It's the quiet mornings, the hands
in the dirt, it's kind of healing.
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Plus there's usually a hot guy in
flannel who is emotionally unavailable
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but incredible with animals or plants.
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So whether it's apple orchards,
tulip fields, or Rose Valleys farm
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romances, give us the comforting,
grounding escape with a side of swoon.
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So today we're heading to the countryside.
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Welcome to Reading Under the
covers a Romance novel podcast,
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where we chat fangirl and maybe
even swoon over our latest reads.
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I'm Francesca from under the covers
book blog, and today we are kicking off
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a brand new series here on the podcast
and it's called Love on Location.
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Every week I'm gonna have an episode
where it's gonna be all about a specific
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setting in our romance books and I'm gonna
bring you all the recommendations for it.
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This week we're starting off
somewhere near and dear to many
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romance readers Hearts the farm.
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That's right.
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Today's episode is perfect for
Blooming Acres Farm as well.
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If you are doing the Romanceopoly
reading challenge with us, which
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is all about reading a cowboy
romance or farmer romance.
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And if you don't know what the
Romanceopoly Reading challenge is,
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I will leave a link in the show
notes and on the card up here where
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you can find out more about it.
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So today let's head into the
fields of flowers, family farms,
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and plenty of rugged charm.
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But before we get to the book recs, let's
talk a little bit about the setting,
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because farm romances often fall into
a few different trope categories.
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You can find them in cowboy romances, of
course, but also just small town romances.
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They often have some grumpy sunshine,
pairings, opposites attract,
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and a lot of second chances as well.
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So you've got the backdrop that's all
about community, hard work, nature, and
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kind of a slower, quiet life that is
perfect for emotional growth and healing.
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Whether you've already read a farm
romance, or this is going to be your first
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farmer hero, I hope you find something
in this episode that catches your eye.
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So my first recommendation is
In a Jam by Kate Canterbary.
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If you're in the mood for something
that blends second chances, marriage
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of convenience, and a whole lot of
heart, I think this one is a must.
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It's also a standalone and it's
available on Kindle Unlimited,
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so you really can't go wrong.
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Shay our heroine inherits her
late step grandmother's tulip
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farm, but the will has a catch.
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She has to be married within
a year in order to keep it.
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So of course, cue all the panic because
she is single and she's fresh off of a
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broken engagement, and that's when she
returns to her hometown of Friendship,
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Rhode Island and reconnects with Noah.
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He was the quiet, awkward guy
back in high school who secretly
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crushed on Shay, and now he is a
gruff single dad who is raising his
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niece and running the family farm.
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So Shay's return throws his world
into complete chaos, and also maybe
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gives him a second shot at something
that he never thought he would have.
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There is so much to love in this one.
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You have the grumpy, sunshine vibe,
a cozy, small town, and a romance
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that really builds slowly but deeply.
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Noah is navigating his life
as a caretaker, and Shay is
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rediscovering who she is outside of
the expectations that others have.
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Put on her.
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It's emotionally grounded while it still
gives us a lot of sweet and soft moments,
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plus, it's kind of like a comfort read.
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It's like a warm blanket in book form.
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I absolutely loved it.
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You'll finish this one.
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I think wanting to move to a tulip
farm, marry your high school crush and
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just live your own happily ever after.
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My next pick is actually a whole
series that you can pretty much read
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It's bittersweet by Sarina Bowen.
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This kicks off the true North Series and
we're going to Vermont with the series.
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Bittersweet gives us a rugged, grumpy
farmer in Vermont and a heroine who
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could not be more different than him.
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So our hero Griffin is running
the family's apple farm after
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life handed him the responsibility
earlier than he expected.
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He is doing his best to keep the
business going, care for his siblings,
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and manage the orchard, all while
carrying the emotional weight
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of being the man of the family.
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So the last thing he needs is someone
like Audrey showing up on his property.
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Audrey is a big city girl.
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She's back to prove herself to her
boss after some career missteps.
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And she's here to source local
ingredients, but not at the
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price that Griff is demanding.
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There's history between them, some
steamy college hookups, but this
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time it's personal and professional,
so they clash from the jump.
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The attraction is still very much there.
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The dynamic is just
pure enemies to lovers.
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There's strong sparks, there's witty
banter, and some serious sexual tension.
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This one is full of cozy food farm
vibes, but it doesn't really shy
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away from life struggles, trying
to live up to family expectations.
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Running a business with your heart on
the line and trying to reconnect with
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someone when your goals no longer align.
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Griff is very broody, but in the
best way, and Audrey brings out a
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softer side of him and of course,
adding some steamy outdoor scenes.
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Yes, I am including that
infamous shower one.
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So if you know, you know, some
delicious meals and a lot of heart,
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I think you've got a great start to
a series that really dives deep into
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farm life and emotional connections.
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The next is No More Secrets by
Lucy Score, and this one is the
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first book in the Blue Moon series.
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This town is where privacy goes to
die basically because this place
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is full of busy bodies with good
intentions and a matchmaking agenda.
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Carter is back from his military
service and just wants to keep
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to himself on the family farm.
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He's got a beard, a grumpy vibe, and a
whole lot of farmer hotness going on, but
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Blue Moon is not having it, especially not
when the big city journalists Summer shows
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up to write a piece on Carter's family.
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Legacy Summer is not built for country
life, at least not on the surface.
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She's got designer clothes.
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A hustle mindset and a
plan to get in and out.
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But the town has actually
other plans for her.
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She ends up staying at Carter's
place while she works on the story.
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And let's just say that the tension
between them is immediate, some forced
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proximity, some opposites attract.
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There's also a dog Carter's exasperation
and the slow unraveling of summer
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secrets that starts to change everything.
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This is small town romance
at its funniest and warmest.
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There's a great blend of banter, sexual
tension, and emotional vulnerability.
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And while Carter tries to push summer
away, you can tell that he's falling
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faster than he wants to admit.
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Summer for her part starts to
see a different path for herself.
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One where work doesn't have to come
before everything this is definitely
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a feel good story with just enough
drama to make the payoff really
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satisfying and it kicks off a beloved
series that leans hard into the found
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family and community meddling tropes.
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So think Gilmore girl vibes at
the farm, but with more steam.
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for my next one.
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Get ready for all the emotional punches.
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Preston's Honor by Mia Sheridan is
one of those books that wraps around
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your heart and just doesn't let go.
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It's about Annalia, the daughter
of a migrant farm worker
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who's loved twin brothers, Preston
and Cole, since they were kid.
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But her true love has
always belonged to Preston.
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They grew up together on Sawyer farm, her
safe place in a life full of instability.
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But things fell apart after
one summer night, and she
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disappeared without a trace.
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So now she's back with a baby in tow, and
she's determined to reclaim her place, not
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just in the town, but in Preston's life.
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He is bitter, he's hurt, and he's
still reeling from everything
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that happened in the past.
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Their journey is filled with hurt,
miscommunication, longing, and this uphill
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battle towards forgiveness and healing.
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This is a deeply emotional second
chance romance with a side of
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brotherly tension and themes of
identity, belonging, and honor.
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Mia Sheridan really knows how to
write ache and yearning, and you'll
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feel every bit of it in this book.
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There's angst, but also there's growth
and some hard earned reconciliation.
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That makes every tear worth it if you
like your romances with complicated past
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small towns and emotional redemption,
Preston's Honor will hit all the marks.
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Now, this next one might look a little
different at first glance, but make
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no mistake that once Upon a Rose by
Laura Florand is 100% a farmer romance.
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It's set in the rose filled Hills
of province, France, where the
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rosier family has cultivated a
thriving rose farm for generations.
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They grow, harvest, and distill roses
for perfume, and the connection to
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the land runs deep, just like in
the more traditional rural romances.
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So yes, it totally fits the blooming acres
farm prompt, just with a French twist.
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our heroine, Layla is a burnt
out rock star, and she's looking
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to escape the chaos of fame, and
then she inherits a stone house
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tucked away in the rosier valley.
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She's hoping for a quiet reset, but
what she finds instead is Matthew
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he's grumpy, protective, and very
attached to both his land and
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the roses that she just inherited
a stake in their first meeting.
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Let's just say it involves growling
and territorial tension over roses, of
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course, but that tension quickly turns
into something more tender as these two
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wounded hearts find solace in each other.
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Matt is your classic emotionally
repressed hero with a gooey center,
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and Layla is a sunshine heroine
trying to find her spark again.
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There is found family generational legacy
and a slow healing kind of romance.
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If you love atmospheric reads with some
wine and old world charm, plus a setting
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that feels like its own character, I
think this book definitely delivers.
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It's soft, slow, and sensual and with
just the right amount of emotional weight.
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If you're in the mood for a comforting
atmospheric story with a hero who might
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just be a marshmallow under all of that
growl, then I think this one is for you.
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And that's it.
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Those are the five romances set on a
farm that I have for you guys today.
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I have more farmer romances on the blog.
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So again, I'm gonna leave that link in
the description box for you guys to check
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out if you want even more recommendations.
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So this was our first
Love on location episode.
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I hope that it gave you a little nudge
to pick up something for the Blooming
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Acres farm prompt if you're doing
Romanceopoly, or just maybe add a
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farmer romance to your TBR and again,
if you don't know what Romanceopoly is,
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I'm gonna leave some information that
you can check out and you can join us
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doing this year long reading challenge.
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Also don't forget that if you
want even more recommendations by.
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Trope character type or setting.
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We have available the book Vault, which
is a book database full with all the books
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that we talked about on the blog, even
the books that we considered adding to
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the list on the blog, and of course all
of the new releases that are upcoming.
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I'm gonna also leave a link to how
you can have access to that if you
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are a paid Substack member, but for
today, that's all I have for you guys.
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If you're tuning in on YouTube,
don't forget to like this video.
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Subscribe to the channel and hit
that bell notification so you
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don't miss any content from us.
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And subscribe for free to our substack
so you don't miss any content that
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we post across all of our platforms.
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Leave me a comment also, and let
me know what are your favorite
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farmer heroes, farmer romances,
or any kind of book set on a farm.
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I would love to know what
are your recommendations
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but for today, that is all, and I
will see you guys in the next one.
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Bye.
