Jenn

I think I'm just solidifying myself as a fan of sports romance. There's just something about a story with a woman succeeding in a male-dominated space that I very much relate to, and the banter with the guys that is so familiar to me.

F1 is not a sport that I follow, but there are elements of it that I am familiar with, having grown up with a dad who loves NASCAR and racing. For people who are not as plugged into the racing circuit, this book has the feels of the Tom Cruise movie, "Days of Thunder," including having a curly, redheaded female lead (although from the UK, so not a complete copy of Nicole Kidman).

There are elements of found family, not being able to trust the press, friendship, forgiveness, PTSD, and navigating between your emotional life and your professional life. The blurb on the back makes you think that this is a second-chance romance, but the reality was more like an unrequited first infatuation - there are still past feelings to be dealt with, but not the betrayal and heartbreak that so often comes with the second chance trope.

It started out as a cool story with creepy, supernatural vibes, but sometime after the 40% mark, it felt like it fell apart a bit and nothing made sense. Even at the end, there wasn’t a real explanation or clear idea of what happened.

I got this book because my fiancé used to be one of the skippers, and I thought it would be a good memory of that time for him, and a good introduction to that part of his life for me. This was a pretty comprehensive book, with a lot of interviews from various people who were involved with the ride. It was good to have so many different perspectives, but at the same time it was a little repetitive when people had the same memories or experiences. That doesn't detract at all from the depth of research this project obviously shows. I would recommend it to anyone who has a love for the Jaws Ride or want to learn more about what it takes to put on a theme park ride.

I would say that this book was a solid 4 stars until the first timeline break in the narrative. The pacing was great and I was invested in the case. Once the timeline changes, I felt like I was having to start over with my relationship to the characters and the pacing slowed down quite a bit. We lingered more on the interpersonal relationships between characters in the town and I was almost ready to give up. However, I kept reading through and the last quarter of the book picked up and I was again invested in the characters and eager to see what happened next.

I am not a huge mystery/thriller reader to begin with, so take my review with a grain of salt. Also, I prefer fast-paced narratives, and the ideal mystery/thriller reader may really like to linger in a really immersive, atmospheric setting.

The writing was good, and while I had a bit of a suspicion of the final bad guy, the way it played out was not something I was anticipating at all.

I enjoyed this story. There were some slow parts in the beginning and the way the world and the magic system works is still a bit fuzzy, even after finishing the book. Part of it is that the main character isn't fully read in on how things work - she only has what she has been told by her corrupt government, where any suspicion of anything less than complete faith in the government is seen as heresy and treason and comes with a death sentence they call Mercy.

Isola has a lot of grit and fire to her and I like that she isn't immediately swoony over the male main character. She is loyal to her friends and displays a good relationship with her parents, who are divorced, her stepmother, and her step-siblings.

I think this book is going to be a duology, and I'd like to re-read it before the next book is released. I was excited to pick this book up on its release day.

I loved this story! It combined two of my favorites: romance and aviation. I liked that it had a lot of details about the process of getting a private pilot's license within a complex world where the FMC had to struggle with misogyny (which is everywhere and can be subtle and unnoticed, as she shows), her mistaken perceptions of past events, the real struggles of everyday people who have to make the hard choices between health and home when financial resources are limited, and her own moral dilemmas.

I love that this cookbook reads with just the same personality and humor as Jessica's videos as ApplesauceandADHD on FB, IG, TikTok, etc. The recipes sound delicious and actually do-able without spending an entire day in the kitchen trying to master complicated recipes. I'm excited to try some of these in my own kitchen (and wondering if I can make some no-bake bars before I go to bed tonight)!

This was a crazy ride! Talk about blurring the lines between fiction and reality. It was such a meta tale, with elements from Colleen's real life experiences bleeding over to the main character, Petra's, to Petra's character, Reya. Fast-paced, thrilling, and with a bit of danger, this was a great book to devour. I read it with my eyes wide from all the audacity. Highly recommend.

This was a very atmospheric and absorbing story that drew you in line by line like Chloe was drawn into Clara's life. The way in which this story is told was very well done, bringing the reader into their privileged, pampered world where gaslighting is artfully weaved around bald-faced admissions of wrongdoing, but then twisted to undermine their subtle horror. And just when you reach the end and it feels that the world is righting itself, one final twist....

This was a good story! Part "The Little Mermaid," part pirate adventure. It reminded me a lot of a novel a friend has written (not yet published). I loved all the twists and turns and how Celeste struggled with duty vs her inner morality, what made someone part of your family, and her own sense of self-worth in a setting where she rarely has all the information that would be helpful to know.

This was a cute story. It went from conflict to resolution pretty fast, but what can you expect from a short story? I liked the banter and how they slowly warmed up to each other because they were able to engage in a way that removed their painful history from the equation.

This was a pretty cute YA romance. I liked that there wasn't *really* too much that was flawed with either of Emma's love interests. They were a little timid, nervous, arrogant, and said the wrong things, but I think it read really true for their age and general sheltered states. I think, given enough time, everyone involved could have gained some emotional maturity and turned out to be a good partner.

There's no spice in this book.

I'll agree with most of the other reviews out there - while there are some sweet elements to the story, it's mainly focused on delivering steamy scenes as fast as possible. For me, it's the other aspects of a relationship which are most interesting for me, so I was a bit disappointed, but there was enough character development that I could get a sense of the connection they had (outside of the insta-lust).

For 43 pages, it felt like a much shorter story. Hi, I've loved you forever, odd Christmas-themed party, go home and make out, go to breakfast with the parents who know everything, the end. The names were a bit ridiculous: Goldie Sunshine, Jack and Holly (the Christmas-themed newlyweds), and Ace.

Another cute, Christmassy short story!

This was a very well-crafted short story. It felt so full of depth, humor, and charm, despite the low page count. I really enjoyed the ways in which Miriam and Cal supported each other. The epilogue letter was the cherry on top!

It was cute, in a simplistic kind of way. The characters were supposedly in their mid- to late-thirties, but felt a lot younger with that in how they dealt with their emotions and romantic interest. I guess it was nice to see a romance story where the FMC was plus-sized, but honestly, I think that element of the story wasn't needed - especially in a short story. The weinermobile jokes and playing Never Have I Ever... I'm not sure if I think that was cute, or embarrassingly juvenile. Probably a bit of both.

This was a really cute story. I liked all the mishaps that threw the couple together. It was sweet and fun without feeling too forced or dramatic.

This short-story is told in a series of flashbacks, with little of the action occurring in present time. I would have preferred to hear a bit more about how they grew to have feelings for each other and felt that it dwelt on how they antagonized each other growing up a bit too much, but overall, I think it was a good story.

I read this series completely out of order, so this book (#3/5) was my final read. It follows Devlin Buckley (who works in the business sector for a company who buys resorts and refurbishes/repurposes them) and Lexi McIntyre (who runs her grandmother's aging ski resort). Lexi's grandmother wants to sell the ski resort and split the money with Lexi and her cousin, but Lexi is attached to the ski resort and wants to restore it herself - she just needs some financial resources. When her one-night-stand turns out to be the developer who wants to buy her resort, her attraction turns to disgust.

Since this is a romance novel, we know that the main characters will end up together and that the resort issue will be sorted out in Lexi's favor by the end of the book. What happens in-between was pretty fun. Reading this in late fall, it gives Hallmark movie vibes and made for an enjoyable afternoon. I like to really get to know characters, so I was happy to see a lot of cross-over characters from the other books in the series.

 This is the first book in the Cherry Tree Harbor series, but I read it fourth. It doesn't make a huge impact on your reading if you read these out of order. Because they are romance novels, you can always assume that the main characters get together in the end, so finding out that X and Y are together isn't really a spoiler. In this book, we start off at Veronica Sutton's wedding and see her leave her groom at the altar. She's left with nothing: no money, only the clothes she packed, no transportation, and no place to live. Austin Buckley is a single dad to twins, in desperate need of a nanny to help out for the summer, so he can help his dad with his construction business, and maybe have some spare time to pour into his furniture-making passion project.

Having kids as part of a plot in a romance novel is always dicey. They could be annoying or not written well, but I think the author did a really good job with them and they added to the experience without feeling awkward.

There was a bit of foreshadowing in this book, revealing information about other characters that will go on to have their stories told in other books in the series. It was a nice teaser, but not too overt. 

Oooh! This was a near-perfect spooky story for spooky season! It's hard with short stories to know what to comment on and what to leave for others to discover as they read, so I will just say that the story was good, the conflict was real, and it gives you a taste of the supernatural and the creeps, while making you reflect on your values.

This was an interesting short story that puts you in the mind of an assassin-for-hire. There are plenty of twists and UNO-reversals that will keep you on your toes throughout. I really enjoyed the questions around morality and ethics that it brought up.

If you don't already know the Gee family, they are an amazing family of Travel Journalists who have been sharing their adventures via their YouTube channel for years. They are genuine, kind, and have good values and a lot of heart, which makes them a joy to watch. I've been a fan of theirs for a long time and was inspired myself to be brave and travel solo – which led to amazing things in my own life.

I heard that they were having a book signing and meet-and-greet in Disney Springs and flew down for 29 hours to get to meet them in person! They are just as delightful in person as they are on YouTube, and I admit that I teared up several times during the event, as they honored other people in the community.

This book is told from Dorothy's perspective and starts with the family dreaming of adventure while at home. They turn their imaginations into at-home adventures, until one day, Mom decides that they are going on an adventure for real.

I love how the story shows the importance of spending time together as a family and the joy that can come from shared adventure - even if that adventure is at-home and pretend. It ends on an inspiring note, with the family actually going out and prioritizing one of the adventures they had dreamed of going on for so long. It might be that push that young families need to know that they can go on vacation even when the kids are little and life is chaotic, and to enjoy every minute you have with the people you love.

The book is beautifully illustrated, and also contains photos from the Gee family's real-life adventures on the title and copyright pages.

I got this copy at the meet-and-greet, but I have also pre-ordered several copies and will be sharing them with some young families that I know.

Happy Book Birthday! Hannah Fraser's Autumn releases today!

I had the honor of reading this book as an ARC from the author. It is a really cute story about a woman who is still in the process of discovering who she is and what she really wants out of life, being stuck in a rural town in northwest Michigan. 

Hannah is fairly sheltered, which makes her act and respond a bit younger than her stated age, and can be a bit of an unlikeable character at the start of the story. She wants to be a social media influencer and is looking for the perfect urban, sophisticated partner to help her in this endeavor. She is a trust fund baby, but has dreams of being able to support her lifestyle through her social media, instead of her trust fund.

Jack is the kind-hearted boy-next-door who has lived in this town his whole life. He works with Hannah by day and moonlights as a deputy sheriff at night. He is a good man from a good family, who loves kids and has endless patience. But, to Hannah, he's seen as a little boring and is initially friend-zoned.

An exciting city boy from Hannah's hometown of Chicago enters the scene and starts pursuing her. Will Hannah fall for the new guy in town and realize the life she always pictured having? Or will she fall for the quiet man with a heart of gold?

I really appreciated Hannah's character development and the few plot twists we got along the way. A good cozy, comforting read – great for those chilly autumn days when you are snuggled into a blanket with a mug of hot apple cider!