Instagram story viewer> @kistephs> Tagged

Ki Stephens

@kistephs

35.5K

followers

2318

following

nd romance writer & unlikeable female character
BLUE WILLOW series, GAME ON, COASTAL uni & rivals
GARDEN of BONES out 4/6
rep: alyssa morris @ trellis

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

⚠️SPOILERS⚠️

Cherry Picking by @kistephs 🍒🏒

A hockey player and gravedigger??? I loved how unique this pairing was.

The main characters were both great. I love Briggs and Evie individually and together. This story felt real and genuine. It was layered and showed the complexities of different relationships between the characters.

Briggs is dealing with the weight of his grief after his brother unexpectedly dies. He hasn't spoken to his brother for 2 years and that plays a heavy role in his grief. I loved how he decided to work on himself and decide that he wanted to be better. He worked towards being someone worthy of the third chance Evie gives him.

Evie is so strong. She works all the time. She isn't one to give out second chances. When Briggs messes up, she makes him work for it afterwards.

I need to give Murphy a huge hug.

The split at the end made me so sad. But Briggs still showing her that he's there with her made me feel better. They're both kind of bad at communicating at times. Them few chapters of them apart were so worth it when they found their way back to each other. Every single aspect of this story was so well written.

The ending was so sweet. I loved the Epilogue. Briggs letting Evie tattoo him is just so sweet😭

Overall, every aspect of this was done so well. From Briggs' complex relationship with his brother and how he had to deal with it now that his brother is dead, to both Briggs and Evie learning to love and trust one another. This was great!!!!

#kistephens #cherrypicking #hockeyromance #bookreview #spicyromance

7

2

briggs and ziggy maxwell x lost weekend.
I think I’m gonna be sick. I cried making these.
this album means so much to me and I couldn’t stop thinking about them while listening to it.

songs used:
never going back
the governors waltz
lost weekend(reprise)
haunted

disclaimer: I own the edits. not pictures, songs, characters, books, fonts, etc used.

😕

I know that silence like the back of my hand.

at least you found yourself briggs. no need to run anymore.

if only they had more time.

grief is such a tricky thing.

14

1

₊˚ෆ cherry picking by @kistephs 🍒🏒💀

[ review on the next caption ]

i had so much fun reading this book!! trust ki stephen’s to come out with a complete surprise book and it be 5 stars 🙂‍↔️

i think that truly speaks pure volumes on her talent as a writer/author, and i wholeheartedly couldn’t recommend this book (and all her other books) enough!!

i’m slowly but surely making my way through her backlist, and i’m thinking next i want to get into her coastal rivers series 🤭

shout to the incredible artists used to make these edits!! your work is truly outstanding: @moontashpena @utopiaart_ @lilytea_art

[5⭐️]

ki stephen’s, give me your shopping list at this point, because i think even that might be 5 stars 😭 this was so good, and i ate up every second of it!! i was intrigued right from the very first chapter.

this book had me smiling, laughing and kicking my feet at the romance, but it also had me deeply emotional as it deals and touches on heavy loss/grief whilst slowly trying to come to terms with it. and i have to say that ki handled the subject with such thought and care which you could fundamentally see through her writing.

i also really appreciate how real and raw these characters came across. they weren’t perfect in every single possible moment, because who is!? it made me feel as if i was almost there with them in every moment wanting to see the absolute best for them.

for a surprise book we had no idea about (which i lowkey absolutely loved, and want more authors to do), i have to say - i could’ve read another 250 pages on evie and briggs. i miss them already and this will definitely be one of those comfort books for me that i will come to reread when i need it <33

70

17

📚☀️ MY HOLIDAY TBR 🍹

One week abroad, then another week offline when I’m home! Scheduled posts, no doom scrolling, beach cocktails, family time and LOTS of reading. Honestly, I need this 🥹💗

📖 The holiday/social media detox TBR

🌊 High Tide by Livia Franchini @doubledayukbooks
A sun-soaked literary mystery filled with art, obsession, buried secrets and a mysterious death.

⏳ As We Fall Through Time by Claire North @orbitbooks_uk
An epic time travel story exploring love, loss and the ways our lives intertwine across time.

📺 Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun @sceptrebooks
A mysterious TV broadcast, missing teenagers and a mind-bending journey through multiple realities.

👽 The Huntmaster by @author.natashawingfield
An alien romance featuring a sentient planet, otherworldly encounters and plenty of romantic potential.

🍒 Cherry Picking by @kistephs
A hockey romance bringing together a grieving player and a funeral director’s daughter.

✨ Starfall by @jamiecassauthor @hodderscape
My next fantasy read, and I’m ready to see where this one takes me! 💫

A little bit of everything on this TBR and I can’t wait to get stuck in! 📚✨

Now to see how many I actually manage to read 😂

What are you reading at the moment, besties? 💗 #tbr #currentread #bookstagram #arcreads #mixgenre

29

15

✨10 before the end✨ here are the books I must get to in the next 2 months 🤞🏼 some of these are sequels that have been on my tbr for far too long. While the others are just some of my most anticipated reads!! I can’t wait for each of these books I just need to get to them asap since the days are going by so fast 🫶🏼 what books do you absolutely have to read before 2026 is over? Have you read any of these and if so where should I begin? #bookish #bookstagram #reading #reads

13

6

If someone told me at the start of this year that I’d be head over heels for a gravedigger x hockey player romance I would’ve laughed… 👀🪦🏒

But it turns out this is one of my ABSOLUTE FAVE romance reads of 2026 and I need everyone else to read it immediately 🫡

What’s it about? Well… Briggs is a professional hockey player who returns home following his brother’s death, only to fall for Evie, the woman who dug his brother’s grave?! 🍒🪦 When Evie agrees to help care for his father, what starts as a practical arrangement turns into something neither of them expected 🥹💕

It’s no secret that I love a book that explores grief, but this might just be one of my favourites. The dark humour. The deep conversations. The way it explores finding love during one of the darkest times of your life and realising you still deserve happiness. It was funny, sad, emotional and uplifting and just EVERYTHING I never knew I needed from a love story ❤️‍🩹

This was my first book by @kistephs and I’ve already downloaded two more 😂 Her writing is SO bingeable, with the perfect balance of hilarious LOL moments and genuine, tear jerking emotional depth! Plus bonus points for setting a book in my fave place ever, Vegas!!

PLEASE add this one to your TBR because I need it to keep blowing up and getting all the love it deserves!!! 🍒💗

“Good night, thirteen.”
“Talk tomorrow, pretty girl.” 🥹❤️

#cherrypicking #romancerecommendation #romancebookstagram #romancebooks

88

12

My Mid-October check in! 🧡👻

It’s been a crazy busy month! but I’m so glad I’ve still had the time to keep reading 💕 tomorrow I’ll be on a plane to Florida for a work trip, and I am absolutely ECSTATIC to start my ARC @brigidkemmerer Captive Traitor King on my flight !! ✈️💓🥰 My review to come, but I can already tell you it’ll be a six star read for me 🥰

These are some of the books I’ve finished this month, and the two im HOPING 🤞🏻 to finish before the month is over !!

How about y’all?? How many books have you read this October? Let me know ! 💕

🏷️ don’t mind the tags

—

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookworm #bookish books reading readersofinstagram booksofinstagram instabook bookcommunity booknerd bookaddict booklove bookrecommendations bookreview bookreviews bookrecommendation whatiread currentlyreading tbr tbrlist bookhaul readinglist bookaesthetic bookishphotography bookishphotos bookishfeed bookflatlay bookishlife bookishlove cozyreading prettybooks romancereader romancebooks romancereads romancebookstagram romancebook romancerecommendations romancebooklover contemporaryromance smalltownromance darkromance spicybooks spicyromance

22

7

💪🏻💗 Women in Sports : book recommendations 📚

Just LOVE finding books showcasing inspirational, fierce, strong, talented women in Sports😍
Female athletes, coaches, working for a sports organization, you name it, y’all are INCREDIBLE!

Here are some book recommendations featuring FMCs in Sports:)

Hopefully you’ll find new gems to add to your TBR 😉☺️

Happy reading❤️

#womeninsports #womeninsportsbooks #fiercefmc #romancebookrecommendations #badasswomeninsports

97

21

crying on page 11 btw! 🥲🍒🪦🏒

cherry picking by @kistephs

cozy reader read reading booksta bookstagram bookish hockey romance fall cherry cherries ki stephens fiction contemporary indie

20

4

10 before the end 📚

Three of which I don’t have in my hands yet 😅

Cherry Picking 🍒 by @kistephs is my next read and I’m so excited for it! & I’ve been heavily in the mood for some pregnancy reads lately so First Comes Amor by @thecynrodriguez is high up there too!

My queen @authormarenmoore also just did her cover reveal today for her Hallmark After Dark Romance 🎄

💭is there any specific book you want to read before the year ends?

120

26

Cherry Picking by @kistephs

Who knew a romance between a gravedigger x a hockey player was exactly what I needed?? This was so so good. I loved the portrayal of mental health & journey of grief.

“It’s about how I pulled away from you because you’re like medicine to me. Being around you, talking to you—hell, even thinking about you—it makes the static stop.”

I loved the banter & dynamic between Briggs & Evie. It was a very natural progression of them becoming friends over the phone and chatting daily, to realising they had chemistry and had caught feelings. I loved seeing Evie open up a bit more and choose what makes her happy too.

I fell in love with his dad murph, he wasn’t afraid to tell the two of them to stop avoiding each other and express their feelings. He was so funny but also broke my heart seeing his grief journey too.

It was such an interesting and refreshing concept and really really enjoyed it!

#romance #hockeyromance #bookreview #bookedit

100

40

Cherry Picking by Ki Stephens

4.5🌟

Review 🏒🪏

I like my lovers a little awkward & grumpy 🙂‍↕️

Cherry Picking follows Briggs & Evie as they navigate a relationship through loss & finding love again.

Briggs is a hockey player trying to find himself in a team where he wants to stay. One day, he gets a call saying his little brother passed away.

Enter Evie, the grave digger. Both of them met at the funeral and somehow Evie became Briggs’ dad’s caretaker.

Texts are flying & feelings are developing, will both of them be able to build a relationship?

First of all, LOVE the cover; the cover was the first thing that caught my eye and made me get the book. This is not my first Ki Stephens book but it is the first that I finished reading.

I love the premise; its not something I’ve read before - a grave digger? that’s so cool!!

Briggs and Evie’s relationship was an up and down hill; when it started to go somewhere, suddenly something happens to break them apart. Imo, it was a lot of back of forth as the story progresses - which a lot of times it would annoy me but the one thing that made me stay was how Evie did not let this man walk over her

EVIE YOU QUEEN

She made this man WORK for her - and I mean weeks of groveling. WE LOVE THIS ENERGY

Now I’m not saying Briggs was terrible; their relationship was cute but clearly he has things to work on, case in point - communication.

GOSH THIS MAN CANNOT COMMUNICATE

But I’m ngl, everytime he says baby or pretty girl I FAINTTTTTT (in a good way hihi)

We love a character arc so imma give that to him. The last part of the book ended on a sweet note and I couldn’t deny there were sweet moments so love that 🫶🏻

First Ki Stephens book & definitely not the last - go read this neowww

Until next time luvs~

XOXO

#cherrypicking #kistephens #cherrypickingkistephens #kistephensauthor #kistephensbooks

3

2