Mini-Reviews: August Reads

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

I find Katherine Center’s books to be very readable and this one is no exception. There was heart and emotion from the beginning. She did a good job of illustrating all of the different character motivations in a way that made sense and helped the reader to sympathize with them. I’ll say that I wanted more from Tina Buckley’s character…but she came through in the end I guess. 4/5

Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

I’m just not huge into sci fi in general but specifically time travel so this one isn’t really grabbing me…but I’ve got the second one out from the library so I’ll probably at least read that one too? And maybe I’ll power through the rest since I like Vaughan and it’s a short series. 3/5

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

This is probably about as close as I’ll ever get to wanting to move to a farm out in the country. A lot of things about it sound completely idyllic, but I know deep in my heart that I’m a true city girl. I really liked Libby’s relationship with her kids in this book. Obviously Abby had more of a central role, but I liked Tank as well. I thought Jean seemed a little too good to be true, but I’m not really going to quibble about it. 4/5

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

It took me way too long to realize that these characters were also in “What You Wish For” and with that in mind, I’m even more blown away by Duncan’s character development. I liked the setting for this book. It ALMOST makes me think I could sign up for something like it and be okay. I didn’t love the conflict involving Windy, but I thought it was handled well by Helen throughout the book. Overall, I liked this book quite a bit and was glad to know readers are able to catch up with the characters in a later book. 4/5

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

For me, this book was just fine. I felt so much secondhand stress over Nora’s finances and also basically every single decision she made. I also found it difficult to keep track of most secondary characters. And what was the deal with her roommate? Why even include her as a character? Overall, it also kind of makes me hate all publishing houses. So there’s that. 3/5

The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center

I can definitely tell this is one of her earlier books because I don’t feel like the relationship between Jenny and Gardner was as developed as I would have liked. I also thought the book took a while to get going. We all knew Dean was going to leave so it was a bit torturous to wait for it to happen. With that being said, the depiction of early motherhood was fresh and felt really authentic. Overall, I still liked this one, just not one of my favorites. 3/5

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

I felt like this one started with a lot of promise, but it got darker than I expected after a while. I’m not opposed to reading about tough things or relationships, but something about this specific relationship just wasn’t very fun to read. It felt like a toxic relationship and that didn’t resolve itself for me by the end. 3/5

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

I liked Cassie quite a bit as a protagonist and I feel like I learned a lot about firefighters. I would have liked a little more time spent developing her new crew, but that probably would have made the book feel a lot more crowded. I also felt like the ending was wrapped up a little too tidily. What a complaint, right? The ending was too happy! Overall, I still really liked this book and it actually gave me stuff to think about regarding forgiveness, etc. 4/5

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

This book was a little harder to read than some of her other ones. I still really liked it, but it was so hard to read about Maggie’s suffering. I could not even imagine experiencing something like that and her mom drove me absolutely crazy! I did really enjoy the dynamic between Maggie and Kit as they worked to repair their relationship. I appreciate that that was given as much if not more screen time as the romantic relationship. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I feel like it helps me to appreciate my own life more. 4/5

Get Lucky by Katherine Center

I didn’t like this one quite as much as the rest of her books. The main character wasn’t as likable to me—she’s doing this incredibly selfless thing for completely selfish reasons! I also didn’t feel like Sarah and Everett really spent enough time with each other. I know they have a history, but they barely talk throughout the book. Overall, I’m not mad I read it, but I wouldn’t read it again. 3/5

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

This book made me feel so stressed! And that ended up being my primary emotion throughout the book. It didn’t make me eager to pick the book back up after putting it down. In the end, I liked it alright. I enjoyed the flashback scenes to Lanie and Peter getting together in college, but I almost wish we had gotten fewer flashbacks of the process and more of their dating and early marriage. 3/5

Set On You by Amy Lea

This one was just okay for me. I think the overall message is supposed to be that we’re more than just our bodies, etc. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel like there was anything more than Scott’s physical attraction to Crystal at least in the beginning. I always like to know WHY our characters like each other and I don’t feel like I got enough of that in this book especially before the “L word” started getting tossed around. 3/5

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Ummm…did the person who designed the cover art even read this book? It’s a completely different tone from the story it contains. But anyway. This book was so good and it made my blood boil in so many different parts. I loved Elizabeth as our protagonist and I also enjoyed getting to know Mad and to an extent Calvin. I can tell you right now, I would not have survived as a woman in the 60s or whenever this book was set. Perhaps I’m simply a product of my time, but man. It would have been torture.

This book was a lot deeper than I thought it was going to be. The cover makes it look like it’s a generic rom com. It’s not. I wouldn’t even classify it as a romance of any kind. This is historical fiction and I think the cover actually goes against everything this book is for. Overall, ignore the cover and read this book because it’s well-written and it features incredibly strong females all around. There are an infinite number of ways for women to be strong, and this book showcases a fair number of them. 5/5

The Change by Kirsten Miller (ARC)

This was the second book in a row that I’ve read with men being horrible and entitled (though this one definitely is worse than Lessons in Chemistry). I think I need something much lighter for my next read haha. This book had a lot of twists, but I enjoyed them. I liked that this story is all about strong women especially at an age when they’re often forgotten and ignored. Things come together slowly, but there are enough pieces for the reader to put things together on their own. The fact that stuff like this actually happens in the real world makes me sick. Overall, I wouldn’t say this read was necessarily ENJOYABLE, but it was well-plotted and I cared about the characters. 4/5

Note: I received a copy free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Talk about a guidebook on how NOT to be a mom… Jokes aside, it really did make me reflect on what kind of a parent I am. My kids are still young, but there are so many ways that we try to impose our will, beliefs, hopes, and dreams onto our children without really thinking about how they are their own people too. Obviously most of us aren’t as bad as Deb was, but we all have the tendency I think. Jennette is open and raw throughout this whole memoir and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch iCarly the same way knowing how miserable she was the entire time. Overall, this book will not be for everyone—I think there are a lot of triggers and there’s a lot of hard material to get through. But it does shine an interesting light on how fame effects child actors. Perhaps without meaning to, Jennette provides an the reader an interesting foil in Miranda. If you can handle the hard stuff, this book is worth a read. 4/5

Mini-Reviews: July Reads

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

I’ll be honest, parts of this book were really confusing for me. I’m not entirely sure what the Haberson map was all about. And the ending was a tad fuzzy for me as well.

With that being said, Shepherd is a good writer and the flashback scenes were really great. I didn’t LOVE Nell and it’s always hard for me when I can’t really connect to a main character. But I thought the other characters were fine.

I was really anticipating this book, but overall it was just okay for me. 3/5

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It was a little boring at times and I had a hard time relating to Laurie in general. I liked the heisty bits, but that really wasn’t very much of the story. I would have liked more of Laurie’s brothers maybe? More of her immediate family? I don’t know. It just didn’t feel totally well-rounded to me, though I did appreciate Laurie’s journey of self-discovery. 3/5

Love at First by Kate Claybourn

Light and easy with a fun cast of secondary characters. I thought this book had a good amount of depth with our main characters without getting too heavy. I enjoyed both Will and Nora as characters as well. 4/5

Counterfeit by Kristin Chen

This book was written in a unique way and I didn’t always enjoy it. I didn’t like the main characters and couldn’t relate to any of the decisions they made. As a young Chinese American mother myself, I expected to relate to Ava more, but I just didn’t. At all. I feel like the plot itself could have been written in a more suspenseful way. Overall, I just feel pretty disappointed in this one. 2.5/5

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

TO NO ONE’S SURPRISE, I LOVED THIS BOOK. Anyway, it had just the right amount of romance while also balancing the Stapleton’s family dynamic and Hannah’s past. I liked the other members of the Protection Agency as secondary characters. The ending genuinely took me by surprise and I wondered how the author was going to explain it, but everything made sense in the end. I thought the pacing was great. We got enough time with the main characters without feeling like the story was dragging. Overall, if you’re a fan of celebrity romances, this should definitely go on your list! And if you’re not, this is still a fun book! 5/5

Daughter of Sparta by Claire Andrews

It was just kind of hard for me to buy Daphne as the savior of Olympus. Every single time she fought someone, she was always “barely” getting out of the way of a fist or sword or whatever. Her fighting skills just didn’t seem that impressive and the reader wasn’t let in on her thoughts or strategy most of the time. So in the end, it feels like our heroine just happens to win a bunch of fights. Also, the romance with Apollo is just not it. 3/5

Mini-Reviews: June Reads

The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland

I checked this book out because we were getting ready to head out on a cruise ourselves and it seemed fitting. Ultimately, I found this book to be just okay. It was less about cruising than the family dynamics and the fact they were trapped on this ship together. It’s really important for me to have likable characters and I didn’t feel that with this book. I barely liked any of the characters and found most of them to be selfish and exhausting. Overall, this book was fine. The ending was wrapped up in a bow and we were more told about character development than shown it. 3/5

Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li

This book did a great job depicting how it feels to be the child of immigrants. The disconnect but also the ties you feel to your heritage. The feeling of not quite fitting in anywhere. How it actually feels at times to be Chinese American.

I also liked how I felt the heists seemed more realistic? I mean, I guess I don’t actually know, but it’s not like these college students had all this tech or special niche experience to help with the heists.

An issue I had was that I didn’t LOVE any of the characters. I didn’t really feel drawn to any of them or like I was really rooting for any of them. I also felt like $10 million apiece was put on this pedestal of enabling whatever life each of the five wanted. But that doesn’t actually seem like that much money to me? Life changing for sure, but it just feels like a small amount compared to what they’re putting on the line.

Overall, as someone who loves heist movies, this book was pretty heisty and again, the child of immigrant experience was perfectly portrayed. 3.5/5

Nora Goes Off-Script by Annabel Monaghan

What can I say? I’m a sucker for a celebrity romance. There’s just something about the improbability of it. But also, the glimpse into a glamorous life while also celebrating the simple things. Either way, this was a good one. I liked Nora a lot as a character. I felt like she was a great mom and it was clear that that’s the role she holds dearest above all others.

Secondary characters didn’t get as much of an explanation as I would have liked. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that Penny was Nora’s sister and not just some girl she grew up with.

I also felt like the pacing could have been a little better. I thought the play was really rushed through and the ending felt a tad rushed as well. But I did like the way that the story played with those cliche romance movie tropes.

Overall, I think I read this book at the exact right time. It hit almost every note for me. 4/5

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Love Lettering by Kate Claybourn

I MOSTLY liked Meg and Reid. There were some things about them I didn’t like so much. And there were some elements of the story that I wasn’t in love with. I didn’t totally get the entire ending. I felt like it was sudden and didn’t get explained all that well. Overall, though, a light read and good for Summer. 3.5/5

Mini-Reviews: May Reads

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Well. I can’t say any of the characters were very likable (maybe just Lawrence). Seriously though! This may be one of the most unlikable families I’ve ever read about. I’m not sure what I was supposed to get out of this book either…what was the moral? Forgiveness? Living your truest self? Having children is the greatest joy you could ever have? Idk. Maybe this book was just over my head. 3/5

Book of Night by Holly Black

I really wanted to like this book. I REALLY wanted to like it. And some parts I actually did like, but mostly this book just felt kind of messy. The world didn’t make a ton of sense. And where Black’s vision of “Fae” is so clear, this more urban fantasy (which she’s done so well in the past with her Tithe books) just fell flat. The magic system didn’t make a ton of sense to me and there were so many new terms being thrown at me that I never got a good grasp on.

The parts I did like: the last confrontation at Salt’s house. That’s kind of it. The rest was just okay. The ending was unexpected and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

Overall, I’m disappointed and disappointed in my disappointment. 3/5

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

It’s definitely an interesting experience to read a book as an adult that you loved as a teenager. I love the way Sarah Dessen writes. It’s like slipping on a cozy sweater on a cold day. It’s just so comfortable and easy for me.

This book in particular I reread before watching the new Netflix movie. And while I still enjoyed Auden as a character, the one who really stood out to me this time was Heidi. I hadn’t read this book since becoming a mom myself. Two kids later, let me tell you, that scene of Heidi sitting in the dark with the baby is SO REAL. I mean, I even have a really present husband, but with my first there were times when I would sit and cry and hope that ANYONE would come save me. The depictions of new motherhood were clearly written by someone who knows what it’s like.

Overall, I really enjoyed my reread. This is one that I forget about sometimes, but it’s up among Dessen’s best imo. 4/5

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

I’m so happy I liked this book! I really liked Beach Read, but People We Meet on Vacation was just okay for me. I liked the premise of the city girl who always gets dumped for the small town girl being able to tell her side of the story. Nora and Libby had a really sweet relationship and I almost wish we’d gotten MORE of that. Charlie was sweet and all, but the romance didn’t need to be as big a part of it in my opinion.

I always like getting a peek behind the publishing curtain, so that aspect was fun too. I’d like to think that in another life I’d have gotten into publishing.

Overall, I thought Henry did a good job playing with tropes. Honestly, my main complaint is that she’s managed to create another fictional book within her book that I’m dying to read. 4/5

Bad Luck Bridesmaid by Alison Rose Greenberg

I just didn’t love Zoey as a main character. Firstly, she seemed a little implausible as a person (manic pixie dream girl but as a super successful advertising exec). Secondly, I think we’re just too different. I couldn’t relate to her at all.

Then there are the flashbacks. So many flashbacks. I think the first 10 chapters is all flashback. I didn’t personally gel with the writing style from this book. Not to say that it was poorly written, I think it was fine, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Overall, this book was a bit of a disappointment for me. 2/5

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I went into it with low expectations since I wasn’t jazzed by the synopsis and didn’t love Carrie from Malibu. But it’s TJR so I was going to read it regardless. And it totally took me by surprise. Obviously it’s beautifully written and it actually made me care about tennis (which is a true feat).

The relationship between Carrie and her father was a perfect focus for this book. Javier was a bright spot every time he was on the page. Plotwise, this book was very predictable. However, it’s still so enjoyable that I didn’t even care. Carrie is fantastic and is truly a great character. She’s complicated and imperfect but also unapologetically herself.

Overall, I just loved this book. If you’re a TJR fan, read this book. If you’re not yet a TJR fan, read this book and then binge her backlist. 5/5

Note: I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mini-Reviews: April Reads

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

This is my second Backman book and I loved it. There’s something about the way he writes that is really enjoyable to me. The characters weren’t completely likable, but that was the whole point. Each character had depth and none of them were what they seemed at first glance. I liked the way that Backman played with expectations. I thought I had everything figured out, but the way he gave the reader just a little bit of information at a time made me realize that I was only thinking what he wanted me to think. Overall, I found this book thought-provoking and emotional with some laugh out loud moments as well. 5/5

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

So many pages. And so many characters and organization names it was hard to keep everything straight. I feel like I still don’t know half of what’s going on and I just read 800 pages of it. Also, I think that last line before the epilogue was supposed to be really epic and impactful but…I haven’t read her other series’s so I think I’m missing something. Anyway, it’s fine. World-building feels clunky. Character motivations aren’t clear. Overall, just too much going on (much too many pages). It’s fine. 3/5

Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

Honestly, I didn’t hate this. The characters are all terrible and parts of it feel far-fetched, but I’m so far from the world depicted that who can even say what’s plausible? I thought Lyla’s internal struggle throughout was well done. She doesn’t exactly redeem herself, but it was nice to see her being differentiated from Graham and Margo. Demi was an interesting character and I actually liked her narration better than Lyla’s even though Lyla had more of the book. The ending was well-played in its ambiguity. 3/5

To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters

A continuation of the series and I think Emily might be my favorite protagonist so far (until Sophie’s book comes out, fingers crossed). I liked her dynamic with Julian as they were both pretty straightforward with each other. It was nothing groundbreaking plot wise, but still enjoyable. I liked the resolution between Julian and his parents as well but wish his siblings had gotten more screen time. There were a couple of moments where a chapter would end with some pressing realization, but then the next chapter would start with “a few days later” and I’m left going “How has this information not come out over the course of a few days?” Minor quibble though. 3.5/5

Cover Story by Susan Rigetti

I ACTUALLY did not see that twist coming. It had me flipping back pages and pages and putting clues together that had been RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE. I felt a little foolish, but in the end I think the twist was masterfully pulled off. I’m not going to say I liked Lora as a character, but she was sympathetic and it was hard not to feel for her as she got taken in by Cat. And I could definitely see all the ways this was inspired by the Anna Delvey story (I’d listened to a podcast about it a while back). Overall, this was a light thriller that, while not scary, definitely had its tense moments. 4/5

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I’ll be honest, I didn’t LOVE Feyre as a character. I always have trouble with protags who find themselves in a new environment and then blatantly disregard everything they’re told/advised by the people who are actually from that environment. Feyre’s actions on Fire Night had me wanting to bang my head against a wall. I liked the tasks element of the book, but it almost felt like it should have been a completely separate book. The reader is rushed through it so the ending feels especially sudden. I also thought the riddle was pretty obvious.

The retelling element of it was interesting…if a bit corny at times (Tamlin showing Feyre the library was completely unnecessary). Honestly, I just started this series after finishing the second Crescent City book because I felt like the last chapter had no impact without me having read this series first. And I didn’t want to be confused in the third book with the inevitable crossover.

Overall, would I recommend this series? Not especially. But I’ll probably continue reading just so I understand context for the third CC book.

Tl;dr – This book is fine. As far as fairytale retellings go, it’s fine. Feyre kind of sucks, but I’m just reading this series for the Crescent City tie in (probably not worth it). 3/5

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This book is SO LONG and yet very little happens I feel like. I liked getting to meet a new cast of characters, but didn’t feel like we got to know them all that well despite the plethora of pages. Plotwise, I’m left wondering throughout most of this book how much of it was planned from book 1. Are we….are we being gaslighted by SJM? I feel like I did after reading the last Hunger Games book. The end result cheapens all the things that happened previously imo.

Also, she used the word “bark” “barked” “barking” about fifty million times with not a dog in sight. Again, I will continue this series, but just because I know that she’s tying this one together with CC and I feel like I need to have the context.

Also also, that ending re: Lucien is just a big “wut”. 3/5

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary

Honestly, this book was kind of off to a rocky start for me. A lot of time is spent making Joseph Carter seem like a really scummy guy and then when everything is revealed we’re just supposed to let all those feelings go? With that being said, I really did like Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane as characters. They were all really different but equally enjoyable. Which made it hard because it feels like they’re competing with each other throughout the whole book and it’s like you have to pick a favorite (Miranda). Anyway, not exactly what I was hoping for, but better than The Road Trip for sure. 4/5

The Devil’s Music by Nathan Page

Al and Rachel? Yeah, I ship it. This book was less mystery-heavy and starts to dive a little more into the Montague twins’ past. I continued to enjoy the characters and thought it provided a good backdrop for talking about mental health. 4/5

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

More barking (though not as much as in book 2 luckily). And I’m getting really confused about all the “retellings”. Like…now we’re getting Bible retellings? V confusing. But anyway, this series continues to be fine. However, I do not understand why authors keep using the word “bemused” to mean amused. I understand the lexicon changing etc etc. But. Technically “bemused” means confused. AND WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH THE WORD “AMUSED” ANYWAY. IT MEANS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY AND THE WORD YOU’RE CHOOSING TO USE MEANS SOMETHING ELSE SO I DON’T GET IT. Anyway. That’s a rant that I have every couple years or so.

I liked that the relationship between the sisters was more heavily emphasized in this book. I’m always here for a good sister relationship. I didn’t love how their dad ended up playing into the story but…it’s whatever. I also don’t love the weird tangled relationships between Mor, Azriel, Elain, and Lucien. Obviously Mor is who she is and can do whatever she wants, but it just feels like unnecessary drama.

Also, what’s up with all of the character names being so similar? I had a heck of a time telling Tamlin, Tarquin, Thesan, and Helion apart. And Hybern is a guy, but also a people? So when Hybern “shows up” I was always confused for a couple pages.

Lastly, these books are fine character and plotwise but I always come away feeling like so many conversations or descriptions or action sequences were too long. This book could easily be trimmed by 200 pages (or more) imo. 3/5

Mini-Reviews: March Reads

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

This book is LOOOONG and I kind of feel like not much happens? It probably could have been half the length. With that being said, I felt like the world building was pretty good. The magic system was a little hard to understand but I kind of just let it happen. Characters were fine. I didn’t really LOVE anyone but the new witch queen (Hecuba? Idk I don’t remember). That’s a thing too though—so many characters! Anyway, overall I thought this book was pretty intriguing and I plan to read the next one. 4/5

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

I knew nothing about this book going in. If you tell me V.E. Schwab is writing a book, I’m all in immediately. On a side note, I just love how different all of her books are.

But back to Gallant. I liked Olivia as a character! She was plucky and determined and even though she made some questionable decisions, she was still a sympathetic character. I actually felt like Schwab did a lot in this book without that many characters.

The atmosphere of this book was everything. I’d almost describe it as horror-lite? It was just a little spooky especially when she visits the other Gallant. I didn’t see those two little twists at the end coming and my heart was actually pounding as it came to a conclusion. I thought the final conflict ended a tad abruptly, but overall I still enjoyed the ending.

I was really happy with this book! It wasn’t a completely new world as Schwab sometimes dives into, but I could still lose myself in it. Would definitely recommend! (Especially if you’re already a huge Schwab fan like myself). 4/5

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith

From the very first page I loved this book. The way that Greta and Conrad were obviously both still in the middle of their grief just chipped away at my heart with every word. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the relationships. Greta’s not a perfect main character and as the story continues, we learn more about her relationship with her parents. We see how both sides were responsible in causing damage. The resolution felt natural (if a little exaggerated by the end). The romantic subplot was a bit unnecessary for me, but I see how it helped Greta to come to some personal revelations. Overall, I loved this book and I thought the ending (prior to the “After” section) was absolutely perfect. 5/5

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

This is a book about sisters and motherhood and what it is to be a woman. I thought the plot was slow moving at times, but it gives us time to get to know Bella, Agnes, and June. The writing was beautiful and I felt everything with every scene between Agnes and Eve. 4/5

Mini-Reviews: February Reads

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I really wanted to like this one more than I did because I loved the first book (and everything else I’ve read from this author). But this book really doubled down on two things I hate: love triangles involving siblings and bad boys who refuse to call the protagonist anything other than an annoying nickname.

In addition, I felt like the mystery/puzzle aspect was kind of convoluted and hard to follow. I wasn’t always sure what was happening even when the characters were making it seem like the next step was obvious. Not sure if there will be another book after this, but if there is, I’d be pretty on the fence about continuing. 3.5/5

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

I liked the first book quite a bit but this one didn’t live up to it. Everything was just SO messy. And while I think that was the point, it was just too much for me. Absolutely nothing went right for Finlay and Vero. Also, part of what I liked about the first book was Finlay juggling being a mom with everything that was going on, but in this book the kids are mostly with other characters off-screen.

Overall, this book was fine for me. I’ll continue with the series and I’ll admit that the twist at the end got me. But I could’ve done with just a little less mess. 3/5

Manu by Kelly Fernandez (ARC)

Kind of confusing at times. I had a hard time telling characters apart, but that could be because my ARC wasn’t finished color-wise. 3/5

On a Night Like This by Lindsey Felk

I’m a little surprised with how much I enjoyed this one? I found Fran to be a very easy character to root for. I wanted so badly for her to get out of her situation with Stew and to do well at this new job! The Crystal Ball sounded insane and I don’t even want to know if the super rich of the world actually have events like that. Also, I was glad for the Below Deck reference because as soon as she got on that yacht I thought “this is like Below Deck”.

Anyway, long story short if you enjoy these British romances featuring 30-something women (Mhairi McFarlane, Giovanna Fletcher, Beth O’Leary) then you’ll like this one too. 4/5

How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur

This book was delightful! If you’re a fan of The Good Place or Modern Love by Aziz Ansari, I’d recommend giving this one a read. And I’d ESPECIALLY recommend the audiobook as it features cameos from the cast of The Good Place and it’s just nice listening to Michael Schur narrate.

This book gives a good overview of several top philosophers and I felt like I came away with a pretty good, basic understanding and of ethics and moral philosophy. It honestly would be pretty interesting to rewatch The Good Place with this new background. Schur tackles some touchy subjects and is pretty obvious about his stance on them (in the context of ethics) so readers with opposing viewpoints may take issues with that.

Overall, I found this book to be very informational while having a liberal dose of humor and some fun anecdotes from Schur’s career. 4/5

Mini-Reviews: January Reads

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

Let’s be clear—none of these characters are likable. They are all selfish, entitled, horrible people. With that being said, the mystery is intriguing and the puzzle pieces are satisfying to put together. Each person legitimately has a motive and it was more than halfway through that I felt I had a good handle on who did it and why. So if you’re looking for a murder mystery, this is a pretty good one. But if you’re looking for a book with enjoyable characters, look elsewhere. 3.5/5

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

This book is wordy. Very wordy. I’d say probably 75% of the book is El’s inner dialogue. At least. There were times I had to reread sentences because they didn’t quite make sense the first time I read them. With all that being said, I still really enjoyed this book. I happen to like El’s voice as a character and so reading 300+ pages of her snark was fun for me (though I can understand why others might be less enthused).

The stakes are higher in this book as El is actively trying to prepare herself and her alliance for graduation. Things are made much harder when it seems like the Scholomance is specifically out to get El. The action in this book was pretty straightforward and I thought the logic of the students as they got their plans together made a lot of sense. I also really liked that we expanded our cast of characters with this book. But with more characters and the amount of time we spend in El’s head, we don’t really get to learn much more about preexisting characters like Liu, Aadhya, and Chloe which would have been nice.

Overall, I can see how this series won’t be for everyone, but I love it. Can’t wait for the next one! 4/5

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Typically for mysteries, I like to be able to fit the puzzle pieces together myself and form my own conclusions. You can’t do that with this book, unfortunately, too much happens off screen. Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book. I thought the audio was just delightful. The narrator is very good and it reminded me a bit of the audio for the Flavia de Luce series which I’ve also enjoyed. I loved our cast of elderly characters and I thought that Donna and Chris rounded out the ensemble really well. The scene where the Thursday Murder Club all sit down with Chris and Donna for the first time had me laughing out loud multiple times. Overall, a fun little murder mystery and I’ll definitely be continuing the series! 4/5

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I don’t know that I really understand what I just read…but I liked it? There was something about it that I found to be really calming even though some of the events were not. Piranesi is an endearingly innocent character. I thought the length of this book was perfect—a lesser author would have stretched it out for another 150 pages. 4/5

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

Wow. Okay, so these two main characters are absolutely infuriating. Multiple times throughout this book they come to some sort of resolution, but then by the next page they’re fighting again. And it’s basically always over some misunderstanding where if they would just COMMUNICATE everyone could get on the same page. But I guess then we wouldn’t have a book. This book is fine. It’s nothing special in this realm of regency romances. Will I continue the series? Maybe. I’ll say this though, poor Wooton doesn’t deserve to be treated like this and needs his own book. 3/5

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

Just fine. Once again, the main characters were kind of infuriating and I felt like the resolution happened really quickly (like all within the last 20 pages). 3/5

The Maid by Nita Prose

I felt so mad while reading this book at basically every single character. The way Molly was being treated was disgusting. With that being said, that fact made the book’s conclusion especially satisfying. I loved Molly as a character. She felt really refreshing. The mystery was also a fun one to try to solve. Who exactly is involved and who knows what information? Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book, but prepare for it to make you a little mad. 4/5

The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

Yeah…just not my favorite. Authors sometimes like to do this thing where they want their main character to be like “I don’t even know why this guy likes me? He’s so special and I’m so normal (or below-average) and it makes no sense!” Sometimes the reader can see what the main character can’t and the romance makes sense. But then other times the author has done too good of a job and the reader also can’t tell why the love interest is attracted to her. That was the case with this book. We are given no real reason for their relationship other than vicinity and that made it hard to get invested in the whole book. 2/5

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary [6/1]

I absolutely loved Beth O’Leary’s previous two books so I was really excited when I was approved for this one on NetGalley. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but there were still elements that I really enjoyed.

Honestly, my main problem was just that I didn’t really like Dylan and then Addie was also just okay for me. Especially at the beginning of their relationship, Dylan just seemed incredibly weak. He was really susceptible to pretty much anyone’s influence it seemed (especially Marcus). I could definitely understand Addie’s frustration with him. And then like I said earlier, Addie was just okay. I liked that she was a hard worker and I could tell she really wanted to do well in her teaching job. But it seemed like she wasn’t willing to stand up to Dylan a lot of the time and I really wanted her to. With all that being said, I did like Deb quite a bit. I liked her no-nonsense attitude and I thought her relationship with Addie was really special.

The plot wasn’t necessarily anything new as it switched between past and present. We got to see how things were going during the road trip interspersed with flashbacks of Addie and Dylan’s relationship. The whole Rodney thing was a weird subplot and I wasn’t super satisfied with how that all played out. It just kind of fizzled into nothing and I wasn’t sure what the point of it was–it didn’t seem to add much to the overall story. And I’m not even going to touch the Marcus subplot. Just…I don’t know how to feel about it. I did like the overall road trip element of the book, though. So many things went wrong and I liked watching the characters come together to figure things out.

Overall, this book definitely had some things going for it! The main concept was enjoyable and created some fun tension, but I didn’t always enjoy the finer points of the story. I would still recommend this book as a summer romance, especially if you’ve enjoyed O’Leary’s other books, but where I felt The Flatmate was an original concept (at least to me) this one didn’t feel quite as fresh. 3.5/5

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MINI-REVIEWS: More Romance

So I’ve been on this huge romance kick over the last couple of months, right? I’ve been reading them quickly and haven’t been very good about getting reviews up, but today I sat down and just decided to bang them all out! (Just…do me a favor and ignore how many of these books feature 29/30-year-old Brits).

mini-reviews

Here’s Looking at You by Mhairi McFarlane

I feel a little foolish that it took until about 75% of the way through before I realized this was a loose Pride and Prejudice retelling, but what are you gonna do? I didn’t like this one quite as much as the others I’ve read by her. Anna was a great main character, but I wasn’t always buying James as a love interest. I’m happy with how it ended, but there was some doubt in my mind if he’d ever be able to truly redeem himself. 3.5/5

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The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

I didn’t LOVE Calla. I feel like she was too oblivious as to how she was coming off to others. Like…you’ve seen the town and you really think the grocery coffee stand is going to have soy/almond/cashew milk? Besides that, I liked the other characters (maybe besides Calla’s mom). Simon is a real gem and neither Calla or her mother deserve him. 3.5/5

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Wild at Heart by K.A. Tucker

I had my issues with Calla again, but overall I still liked the book. I just feel like she’s willfully naive sometimes. I’m not sure what she thought life was going to be like in Trapper’s Crossing, but I thought she should have been a little more grateful towards Muriel taking her under her wing. I did like her relationship with Roy, though, and thought it felt realistic. 3.5/5

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It’s Not Me, It’s You by Mhairi McFarlane

Wow. Talk about slooooooow burn. Halfway through this book and I still had no idea which guy Delia was going to end up with. I don’t know that the relationship made a ton of sense to me always, but I still liked it and thought Delia was a good character. I liked her “journey” and the things she discovered about herself though she was a little too naive when it came to Kurt.

Unrelated, I thought the comic panels were a nice touch! Really enjoyed them. 4/5

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Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

This book actually took me by surprise! As the story sets up, you think you know where it’s going, but then it turns completely on its head. The meet cute scenarios that Evie comes up with are equal parts cringe and heartwarming. It really is interesting to think about how those scenarios might play out in real life (mostly poorly). I thought the romance was compelling though I wasn’t totally convinced until the end what the love interest necessarily saw in Evie. Overall, this was a cute read. 4/5

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Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

I really enjoyed Georgina’s journey throughout this book. Despite the fact that this book would be classified as romance, I feel like Georgina’s development as a character shared equal screen time and I really liked seeing her relationship with her sister grow throughout the book. The romance part is great too. There’s a lot of “but wait…does he actually remember her?” looming over every interaction that Georgina and Lucas have. With their backstory, I felt like the romance was believable and I found myself really rooting for them in the end. 4/5

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The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

I really enjoyed this one! Admittedly, Tiffy was a little much for me at times but I thought that Leon’s chapters balanced her out nicely. I thought the change in writing styles between their narrations was interesting and helped to distinguish them from each other. One of my pet peeves is when a book has multiple POVs, but they all sound like the same person and that was not the case with this book. I’ve seen other reviews complain about the secondary plots, but I actually didn’t mind them. I thought they fleshed out the characters in a realistic way that ended up contributing to their overall connection as people. Perhaps things might have wrapped up a little too picture perfect in the end, but I can hardly begrudge this book or characters their HEA. 4/5

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The Switch by Beth O’Leary

If you are looking for a book featuring a quirky English village (quirky residents included) then look no farther! I really enjoyed getting to know the townspeople of Hamleigh along with Leena. Penelope and Roland especially always had me chuckling. Overall, this book had a really strong cast of interesting secondary characters to help Leena and Eileen along on their journeys. The relationship between Leena and her mother, Marian, was tense but felt necessary and I’m glad that O’Leary featured it, though I could have used a little more on-page action. There were elements of this book that I felt were unrealistic (both Eileen and Leena got A LOT done in less than two months), but I was more than happy to overlook that.

As the book started to wrap-up, however, I was worried that both of our heroines were going to end up with their respective love interests by default. Here’s what I mean by that: the whole book a protag is with one person (when the love interest is clearly…well…interested) but then something happens at the very end to cause that initial relationship to end and our protag turns around and is like, “Oh yes, I guess I do love this other person over here”. Even though five seconds ago they were really fighting to keep their previous relationship. Anyway, that DOESN’T end up happening in this book even though I was worried it was going to happen not once, but twice. I ended up really liking how O’Leary navigated all of those relationships. 4/5

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A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday

Meh. This book was just alright. I enjoyed all of the parts that were Hallmark movie-esque (quaint European village with delicious holiday traditions, meddling younger sister, New York meet cute) but I don’t really think I liked either of the main characters very much? I didn’t feel like they were very consistent throughout the book. Leo especially was just…kind of an odd character. He had an ENORMOUS chip on his shoulder and seemed to go out of his way to be contradictory at times. I can’t say I enjoyed any of his POV chapters really. And then I found Marie just kind of boring. 3/5

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A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore

While I enjoyed this book, it does fall under the classic romance cliche where one frank conversation between characters would eliminate 90% of the drama. Lucie and Tristan were both interesting characters and again, I really liked the historical backdrop of the women’s suffrage movement. Lucie is not a damsel in distress to be saved and Tristan is clearly no white knight, but they end up working together to further their individual goals. I liked that Dunmore portrayed Lucie and Tristan as equals starting with them both owning 50% of the publishing house. It creates a good dynamic between them I think. Overall, I’m definitely interested in continuing the series ESPECIALLY after learning that book #3 is going to feature Hattie! 4/5

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Say You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker

I’m not totally sure why I didn’t love this book, but it wasn’t as enjoyable to me as some of the other romances I’ve been reading lately. I didn’t love either Piper or Kyle to be honest. The flashback chapters to camp life were kind of a drag for me. Obviously I know they were being dumb teenagers (and which of us hasn’t been a dumb teenager at some point?) but I felt like so many of their decisions were just BAD and the consequences were so easily avoidable. I don’t know…I think this book just had too many things going on–elements that by themselves could have worked better. 3.5/5

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