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Romance
Latest Book Reviews
3
Oh, Thanksgiving weekend… the food, the booze, the sports, the re-connecting with old friends. Like Murphy Konowitz, I was excited to see my best friend and have a night out together. However, unlike Murphy, I enjoyed meeting my friend’s new friends and significant others and did not start a fight on my favorite night. Murphy is visibly mad and somehow fight with best friend leads to meet cute with pretty girl?
After running into each other in the bathroom, Ellie Meyers and Murphy reconnect and plan a fake dating scheme. The quick timing threw me off, limiting my ability to buy the chemistry between these two.
I did enjoy Murphy’s salt-of-the-earth friendship with Kat. There was genuine love among friends here, and I found it touching that they were able to support each other even in the midst of a disagreement. I enjoyed seeing the friendship through multiple other characters’ eyes and felt it was a clever way to indicate how precious female friendship can be!
Grischow did an excellent job capturing the feelings and jealousy of seeing your friends figure out their lives and college plans while you remain stuck. While I struggled to connect with Murphy, I appreciated her struggles in community college and and the implications that you don’t necessarily need a degree to be successful.
My second gripe is the classification of this book. Is this YA? Is this new adult? The one spicy scene was mostly faded to black (and spoiler at 94%), so it felt unnecessary at that point. I think anyone in college would appreciate the complexity of managing high school nostalgia and being open to something new. The characters felt immature (communication was lacking), but I think it worked if you reminded yourself they were 21, which confirms my belief I am not their intended audience.
Overall, I felt okay about reading this. It would be a great read if I were younger, and I would encourage college-aged readers to give it a try
General Fiction, Thriller/ Horror
Latest Book Reviews
5
A small town, a best friend, a life-altering trauma, an enigma, and the enduring power of hope collide in 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬. Chris Whitaker takes us on an epic voyage as we follow Patch, Saint, and several Monta Clare, Missouri townsfolk into their darkest days and deepest secrets.
Through 261 succinct chapters, we pursue Joseph ‘Patch’ Macaulay and Saint Brown from adolescence to adulthood. Blending thriller, coming-of-age, romance, and police procedural, Whitaker makes this seemingly long book fly by. While at its core it is character-driven, the plot moves quickly both through time and the very nature of life itself. Each suspenseful chapter leaves you tearful and with bated breath as you attempt to crack the unknown.
The main characters were multilayered, and the supporting characters vividly animated. I was wholly invested in this story and spent many chapters worrying over my beloved characters’ fate. Similar to other coming-of-age novels like 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘩 or 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, the reader wishes to stop both Patch and Saint from the path they were heading on. Yet with every seemingly wayward turn, Whitaker laid the foundation for the astonishing yet completely satisfactory conclusion.
Like everything else about this book, Edoardo Ballerini’s narration is tremendous. His intonation distinguishes each character and adds a richness that drives the emotional elements to the surface. The performance enhances the intricate detail and suspenseful nature of the story.
This review is intentionally vague because the less you know, the better. If you enjoy genre-bending sagas or just want to witness an incredible yet tragic devotion among friends, pick up this book!
It’s tender, it’s shocking, it’s full of want and heartache and the kind of suspense that will captivate you to the very last sentence! Undoubtedly, 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 is contender for best book of the year.
Romance
Latest Book Reviews
5.0
Moving, warm, teaming with just enough humor for happy tears and depth for sad ones, 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 will be on my shortlist for favorites of the year.
Ali is stuck. Between losing her mother, her unfulfilling marriage turned impassioned divorce, and the nonstop nature of raising kids, she struggles to find herself among all the mess in her life. Enter Ethan, full of bold laughter, a love of skateboarding, and lots of eye contact. But it is summer, and she has the kids, and he lives out of town, so how could it be anything more than a summer romance?
Just wait!
The chemistry!
Annabel has a true talent for capturing everyday life and making it romantic. This book feels comfortable like your favorite t-shirt, soft and a little worn, yet always makes you feel good. The crux of the plot is simple everyday life, and I love how she captures so much of the undulating emotions of motherhood in her words. It is refreshing to read about a late-30s woman who still feels like they don’t quite have it all figured out and is still learning who she wants to be. The romance is enchanting and yearning; I swoon at how much they notice each other. Plus, much of this book focuses on family dynamics, and I was captivated by the complexity.
{light spoiler ahead}
I had the absolutely stellar luck to see Annabel on tour. While I was excited to read 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 after hearing her speak, I had no idea what an absolute imprint this book would make on my heart. While I am not grieving a parent or in an unhappy marriage, I am a mother, a daughter lucky enough to have a loving mother, and I was once a young teen who was bullied by the mean girls at school and a witness to how that impacted my parents. I cannot remember the last time a book gutted me the way I cried reading this one. The mother-daughter dynamics are masterfully intricate, and the details of how those shape womanhood and the experience of being a mother are relatable.
I LOVED every sun-filled moment of this fast-paced, lived-in novel, and I highly recommend it!!
Thriller/ Horror
Latest Book Reviews
3.5
A mysterious text, a lost love, family secrets, and creepy technology collide in Sabrina Bowen’s debut thriller.
Have you ever received a text that made no sense? What if that text was from someone you believe died five years ago? In 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘦, we follow Ariel, a single mom and artist working at her late father’s security firm, as she reopens old wounds and attempts to find the father of her child and what led him to ghost her.
The vibe was a cozy thriller crossed with a romance. Each of the three points of view, Ariel in the present, Drew in the past, and a creepy unknown third, were differentiated by a different narrator. I felt the narration changes helped highlight each chapter’s short nature. The well-done narration, in combination with Bowen’s writing, made both timelines easy to follow, and I liked that the changes in POV signaled a shift in the timeline. The audio was clear; I never needed to consult a text version. This wasn’t spooky, with just enough suspense to keep me returning to it each time I got into the car. Being the romantic I am, I found the romance subplot sweet and unexpected bonus. Bowen’s previous novels are romance/ steam, and her expertise in crafting relationships is evident.
While both the beginning and end 25% of this book were fast-paced and engaging, I felt like the discovery of evidence in the middle was a bit strung out. I predicted most of the twists, so there was almost no suspense. Moreover, I wish we had more explanation at the end, as things wrapped very quickly after the climax. That said, the chapters were short, and the plot focus on the use of video technology was both frightening and eerily believable.
I would recommend this for those who like thrillers lite and those who enjoy a cross-over between suspense and romance. I wouldn’t go out of my way to read it, but it is a solid Kindle Unlimited pick.
Romance
Latest Book Reviews
4.5
Beach walks, an endless supply of fresh seafood, a soulmate of a best friend, a few game nights with one too many drinks, and, of course, a lust-filled 5-year journey is just a little bit of ✨magic ✨ of Carley Fortune’s latest novel.
Creating three stellar variations on second-chance romance, all with summer themes is exceptionally difficult, yet Fortune nailed it again. While this might be more lust to lovers, I think calling it that would be a disservice. This novel is full of that gentle love you don’t see coming until it overwhelms you. The main characters are finely crafted, and the supporting cast is robust and integral to the plot.
From banter over books to remembering her favorite brand of butter, Felix embodies that kind, understated, patient love that will have you swooning from the moment you meet him. I found Lucy incredibly relatable, like someone I could easily have in my inner circle. Her love for her best friend and their relationship subplot was perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this book.
Fortune’s writing is detailed yet comforting and formatted to make it easy to read. She vividly depicts Prince Edward Island; you can feel the salt air and picture the grassy fields. This is spicy, with just enough descriptions to make you want to blush. I think this might be my favorite variety of spice, sprinkled throughout but nothing too over the top. I spent much of this book smiling because the romance felt inevitable, even if the main characters couldn’t see it themselves.
This book radiates summer and feels like being wrapped up in a cozy, warm sweatshirt at a beach bonfire. I loved that Felix and Lucy’s story was so much about everyday moments; there was lots of cooking, eating, and gathering. (Swipe for an inspired menu.) 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 encompasses all there is to love about summer romances and is perhaps Fortune’s best work yet!
Romance
Latest Book Reviews
4
Sometimes, you pick up the right book at the right time, which is precisely what transpired this weekend; after admiring this cover for months, I finally grabbed the book. I wanted a fluffy Hallmark-like romance with a caregiving man, and this delivered on all fronts. Was this a little bit cheesy? Yes, and did it have a forced, very illogical third-act breakup? Yes, and did I still enjoy reading it? Also Yes! While I tend to be harsh when reading any book with questionable communication skills, Easton wrote a sweet, enjoyable, and easily digestible book overall.
Amerie’s life is a bit of a mess: recently fired and dumped, she is struggling to get her career back on track and facing too many bills. Things seem to be looking up when she smacks into Vincent, a handsome astronaut who needs a fake girlfriend in exchange for a rent-free stay in his second bedroom. The more time they spend together, the more the lines between fake and real blur. Predictable but fun, this is a first-person single POV, and at times, I wished we had a male POV for balance. It was refreshing for both characters to have such strong, loving marriages in their parents. It added depth without adding in random trauma.
While this was primarily light, there was some discussion of the difficulties and biases faced by those living with sickle cell disease through Amerie describing life with her chronically ill mom. I think both the pressure she felt not to put an additional burden and the reality of life’s difficulties with sickle cell was well done.
I really felt similar vibes to 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 by Katherine Center, except with minor spice. This could be easily read in an afternoon, and I would suggest it for the next time you need an escape. This is Easton’s debut novel,and I am excited to see what she writes next.