Kiraz
Never Ever Getting Back Together is an NA romance book about Maya and Skye, both of whom dated the same guy, Jordi, and got invited to a reality TV show where they get a chance to win him back. Except Maya isn't there to win him back, she's there to get revenge.
I am a BIG Sophie Gonzales fan. I've read all of her YA romance books and loved each more than the last. If you haven't read Perfect on Paper and If This Gets Out, you're truly missing out. This also meant that my expectations coming into this book were really high, but I'm really sad to say it was a bit of a disappointment.
I think this book is best experienced without knowing anything about its plot. But on the other hand, if you do that, there might be some moments that blindside. It's your choice, but either way my review is safe to read.
This is a beautiful story of two people, at times heartbreaking, at times heartwarming, trying to just make their way in life, and maybe towards each other?
I loved the emotional authenticity of the book. Both of the main characters have things they're dealing with (one more than the other), their emotional journeys through these were handled so beautifully. They don't always make the best choices, and you do want to give them a good shake sometimes, but they always stay true to themselves.
I also loved the way the book handled those giddy feeling of falling in love online. Throughout the beginning of the book where the two main characters don't meet face to face but get to know each other, and have feelings for each other on the phone. Despite the distance, and relative short time that this spans, the author did such a great job making their connection feel deep. I couldn't avoid reading these sections with a goofy grin on my face. It took me back to the excitement of chatting with crushes on MSN (AIM for you Americans).
There were some fantastic side characters in the book. I would LOVE a spin off for at least one of the characters (one of the MC's best friends). But everyone (with just one exception) was just awesome. I especially thought the adorable older neighbor with the very serious coffee rating just fantastic.
I would highly recommend not skipping the author's note in this one. I feel that it adds one more layer to the depth of the emotions in the book, making aspects of it feel even more meaningful.
Now on to what I didn't like. There was one character that I really was not OK with, not only did they stick around for WAAAAY longer than they should have, I didn't like all the body positivity issues they pushed onto the main character. Some said that this was inevitable because of their job, but not only do I not agree with that, I also think, it was a disservice to make this person such an obvious ass
Finally, my biggest issue with the book was that I didn't see the main character go through any growth. She is a bit of a She is a bit of a pushover, and she acknowledges this too, so I really wanted to see her make some of her own choices towards the end. Take her life in her own hands and drive it in the direction she wanted it to. But even to the very last page, it felt like she was being pulled along.
Overall rating: 4.2⭐
Thank you so much to Ballantine, Dell Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!
I loved this book! It was so compulsively readable, I was up all night because I couldn't put it down. This will be a book I recommend to everyone. It's a very well written historical YA set in 1979 with great representation, and it has a little bit of everything: politics, rock music, romance, family drama, betrayal, friendship and college applications.
One Last Gift is a holiday read about grief, loss, and healing. It's also about embracing life, and not being scared to take chances. Among all of this, there is also a romance, but they won't be able to embrace their love until they go through their emotional journey, and a treasure hunt spanning almost a whole year.
It's impossible not to compare Emily Stone's latest book to her previous one. I found Always, in December to be more heart wrenching, more tear jerky, and also more filled with twists. This one, in comparison, was more straightforward. But she is fantastic at emotional authenticity, at handling grief, and the journey to healing.
The Night Ship half takes place on the Batavia, a real life ship back in the early 1600s, and half on an island off the coast of Australia, at Batavia's wreck site in 1989. The story is from the perspective of two 9 year old kids, 3 centuries apart.
I really wanted to enjoy this book. I like challenging myself with books in the genres outside my comfort zone. And a lot of the time, I really enjoy reading them. However this time it wasn't as good of a match.
This is a very well written, very strong and very sad story. I just couldn't connect with it enough. However, I'm still really glad to have read this book and find out more about a shipwreck I previously hadn't heard of. And there are some parts of this that will stay with me for a while.
Funnily enough, this is not the first queer holiday book I read this year with an entitled main character going to a small town where their family lives after a snafu, and decides to help the town hold an event to help the local businesses in order to restore their reputation but finds growth and romance in someone with a penchant for woodcutting.
I liked this one more.
This was such a beautiful and enchanting story with lots of intrigue that kept me turning the pages. It's a story that feels like a warm hug but also has betrayal, lost memories, family drama, and murder!
I loved the setting so much. Not just because it takes place in a small town, but also the magical aspects of the two founding families, how the magic is about loss and pain but still feels warm and hopeful, the vibes, the atmosphere... All of it created this beautiful and enchanting world within the story.
In this town there are two distinct (and magical) ways of dealing with your emotional pain. This made me think about all the different ways we try to handle our heartbreak in real life, and what really helps one “move on” in healthy ways. And even though they deal in pain, the whole book is about healing. Healing the people, the land, the connections.
The imagery in this book was powerful and filled with nature. One character's happiness brings forth butterflies, teas with herbs and flowers can give you courage or soothe your anxiety, the garden gifts berries of visions and grows in magical and wild ways. They're described in such vivid detail, I felt like I was there along with them, with everything playing in front of me like a movie.
The mystery in the book was also handled exactly right. Even if you foresee some of the revelations, the book still has some twists up its sleeve that leads up to an edge of your seat scene of it all coming to a head. The mystery is revealed in such a way that for most of the book it feels very difficult to put down.
This book also had: beautiful romances, fantastic and huggable characters, lots of tea leaf reading, and even more bourbon. I especially loved one of the romances, they were so cute together!
This was the perfect cozy murder. Julia who's in her early 60s with a penchant for stumbling upon murders in the small (I think fictional) town of Berrywick in the Cotswolds, with gossipy townsfolk, low stakes crime and a detective happy to receive help from a retired social worker.
Even though this is book #2 in the series, and I haven't yet read #1, it's perfectly safe to pick up, since the book does a good job of giving you any context you might need.
The mystery itself was fun and twisty, while I guessed the who and the why pretty quickly, I don't necessarily think it was telegraphed too obviously, I'm just a little too familiar with cozy mysteries.
I just loved reading this book! It's heartwarming, sweet, and touching. It got me teary eyed more than once, and I just wanted to hug the book close at the end. I'd recommend it for readers who enjoy books about the connections between people, kind of similar to Remarkably Bright Creatures or Anxious People.
While the main premise of the book is Libby trying to help Frank, the focus is the characters and the coincidences of life that connect or separate people. There are the two main characters: 80-year-old Frank, who's looking for his missed connection, Libby who is trying to figure out her new life. Then there's Dylan, a punker who's so caring, Esme who's bold and hilarious and other characters on the 88 bus.
These characters are very well written and make for a beautiful found family. Reading this book is at times heartbreaking, at times bittersweet but all in all beautiful. I loved watching them slowly become a band of unlikely friends, and even a family.
I connected to these characters so much, that even though there isn't necessarily a page turner intrigue to it, I couldn't put the book down. I read it in one day. They're all so easy to root for, I wanted to make sure that they all get the happy ending they deserve.
There's also a romance in here that is really sweet as well. I loved that the love interest is not the kind you usually see in books. Despite his tough exterior, he's a cinnamon roll who was so thoughtful and loving towards Libby. I really enjoyed seeing him slowly shed his protective layers to show his true self to her.
I had a few nitpicks about the book, like how terrible the “villains” of the story were, and the fact that it had the third act breakup even though it didn't really need it. But these were small issues compared to how much I enjoyed reading this book.
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
This book is mainly about the implosion of a marriage that the main character kind of causes, and its effects on all the character in the book. All these characters get their own POV which I thought was great, but there is a clean main character: Marnie, and a clear love interest: Luke.
This is a book with lots of heart, that will give you the warm and fuzzies, great for curling up with. Note: there is an infidelity plotline in this book (not for the main romance) if you believe cheating is absolutely unforgivable, this book might not be for you.
This one is a very sweet queer holiday romance, and as the book mentions as well, we need a lot more queer holiday romances. I'd recommend this book for Hallmark style movie lovers. But just like those movies, you can either overlook the details and enjoy it for what it is, or you'll get caught in the details like I did. I know this is an unpopular opinion and most people loved it, but I just couldn't get into it.
At the beginning of the book, the main character has a lot of anger towards the most important people in her life. For things that happened 7 years ago. The issue is that, not only did she blow things out of proportion back then, she still feels exactly the same way. From the very beginning I couldn't get over how she has not grown at all from her high school days. Even by the end of the book, I'm not convinced that any of the characters changed or grew at all.
On the other side of things, the love interest, Rachel, and other people in Morgan's life magically forgive her almost immediately for practically ghosting them for 7 years, even though they would actually be right to be angry.
And when it comes to their romance, I didn't see it. It felt like their only connection was in the past. They had no real bonding or connection as adults other than their sexual tension. It felt like a relationship built on nostalgia.
Even the classic premise of saving local businesses, which I usually enjoy, lacked oomph, since issues were resolved almost as soon as they came up, the stakes didn't feel high, and I couldn't appreciate the solutions they came up with.
What I did like:
Overall rating: 4.5, rounded up.
I enjoyed this book so much! I was pretty much hooked from the first page and when the main love interest came in, I couldn't put it down, their love felt so real and tangible even before it becomes a romance.
If you're familiar with British romances, this, like those, doesn't focus purely on the romance and the romance takes some time to develop.
The Fixer Upper is about Aly who has been helping everyone in her life, but never putting herself first. The book mainly focuses on her slowly learning to prioritize herself, and maybe have a second chance romance with her first love.
I really liked the way the book handled Aly's growth throughout the book. I feel like she's a great example of growth without making the character unlikeable to begin with. Her going from helping literally everyone else, to even her own detriment, to actually claiming her own voice and space felt great!
The two MCs are both flawed characters. They're both people pleasers, but in very different ways. They learn from each other's mistakes and both change for the better. I really liked the love between them, even before it became a relationship, how much they care about each other felt so deep and real. I was rooting for them the whole way.
The friends of both of the main characters were great but especially Aly's, I loved that they didn't feel like caricatures and they brought out the better parts of Aly. They also felt like great characters themselves, I'd be happy to read a book about any of them.
Even though it might look like a big chunk of the book is about manipulating people, I actually quite liked the direction the book went with it. The characters learn from the mistakes of their assumptions and take their endeavors in the right direction.
Overall this was such a great read for me. And I enjoyed all the plot lines, even outside of just the romance
Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the eARC!
This wasn't an easy read for me. It took me weeks to get through. But overall, I appreciated it for all the representation. I thought that the author did an especially great job with the mental health related storylines in the book. Read if you're looking for very lust-forward spicy books that also cover heavier topics.
The Bodyguard is about Hannah, a workaholic bodyguard, excuse me, an Executive Protection Agent, and she's hired to protect an a-lister celeb. Soon circumstances will push them closer and closer as they'll have to pretend to be dating.
I enjoyed reading this book so much, I finished it in one sitting! It's cute, romantic, emotional and even thrilling at times.
I've only read one other Katherine Center but I can already recognize her brand of romance and I love it! She writes great three-dimensional characters, and their emotional journey becomes just as important as the romance itself. And by the end you will find that you feel healed, wrapped in a warm blanket. Even though I generally like steamy romances, I never miss that in her clean romances.
Hannah, the main character was a great one to read. She's brilliant and strong. She knows what she wants and won't take shit from people. She's also struggling with losing people close to her and doesn't fully know how to deal with it other than grasping to her work harder and getting too busy to have time to feel anything. I loved that she was a bodyguard, not at all a job you usually read about in romances, and I loved that she loved her job so much. It was all quite nuanced.
The love interest Jack was fantastic too. He's a selfless, loving and funny guy who also doesn't quite know how to deal with his loss. He's the ideal fictional man, without being too unrealistically perfect.
I liked that the two characters had loss in common, but they were going through it in different ways. I thought that both of their emotional journeys were incredibly realistic, and I loved that they helped pulled each other out of their unhealthy habits. By the end, they were both changed for the better.
Some of the other characters were great as well. Jack's parents especially so. They were so in love, so supportive, so full of love for their family, and so strong too, while they're dealing with some scary possibilities. It also warmed my heart that Hannah felt so close to them and that they could act as good examples of a loving family for her.
At some point in the book Katherine Center fancast The Unhoneymooners (by Christina Lauren) with Jack the LI as the main character and that just tickled me so.
The only part that I didn't fully connect with was how/when Hannah falls in love with Jack. For me it went from he's an annoying actor dude I have to work for to I actually love him so fast that I had to flip back some pages to see if I missed something.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!
Upgrade is a Sci-Fi where it feels more real than fiction. It is set in a future where targeted gene mutations are entirely feasible but outlawed because of its environmental effects. In the middle of the story is Logan,
This is the second Blake Crouch I've read. I enjoyed reading Recursion so much 2 years ago that he became an insta-buy author for me. I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint! Blake Crouch knows how to write thrilling mind-bending science-fiction that's hard to put down.
Overall, I really enjoyed Upgrade, it asked some great ethical questions about the environment, compassion, intelligent, the greater good and where these all meet. I really liked the way the author handled the changes in Logan, especially the emotional ones, as he gets smarter and stronger. His slow disconnection from humanity, the changes in the way he views others and his relationship with his family was both beautiful and heartbreaking. In some way it reminded me of Fowers for Algernon in this regard.
Beyond the emotional, the technical aspects of the changes in Logan were also handled in a very unique and cool way. For example, how being able to split your focus over and over again could feel like time slowing down.
Even though the book takes place in the future, it's not hard to imagine how our world could end up like the one in the book, and it's hard to miss the environmental crisis and climate change in the book as what we are moving towards. I liked that the book took a hard stance on these topics, without seeming defeatist and completely pessimistic. Blake Crouch himself has said in an interview that he doesn't feel like he's writing sci-fi anymore, and that's easy to see with this book.
There were a few small nitpicks I had with this book, that kept it from being a full 5⭐. One of these was some of small parts of the book that felt unnecessarily detailed to me, without actually adding anything to the story.
Also, the problem with any story where the main character gets superhuman smartness is that it gets difficult not to nitpick on small mistakes. TBF these kinds of discrepancies happen a tiny amount in this book, but they do happen.
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this eARC.
The Charmed List takes place in a mildly fantastical world which sets up the background of the story. Ellie wants to no longer be a wallflower, so she makes a list of things to do before her senior year of high school. One of the items on the list gets her and her bestie, Lia in trouble, so instead of going on a road trip together, Ellie has to go with her old best friend, now enemy, Jack.
This is a cute YA romance that's actually for Young Adults. It is sure to put a smile on your face. Reading this book feels like watching those older Disney Channel movies in all the best ways, and I say this as someone who devoured them as a teenager.
This is the third book I've read by this author. I love Julie Abe's magical worlds. They're always cozy, whimsical and fun. This is no exception, even though the magic in this world is a lot smaller scale compared to her Eva Evergreen series, it is well thought out. There are no strong spells here, but little charms, like calming teas, joyful pastries, secret cottages...
The romance between Ellie and Jack is quite adorable. I loved the progression of their relationship, even though they're “enemies” it's always obvious how much they care about each other. The adventures they go on on their road trip and the way they start to trust each other was so cute to see. They had so many adorable scenes together. Also Jack was great as a love interest. He's really thoughtful and nice. He makes mistakes, but throughout the book, you can always tell how much he likes and cares for Ellie. I enjoyed all the flashbacks we got in the book of when Ellie and Jack were friends. The memories helped emphasize how great a friend Jack was and how Ellie must have felt after losing such a great friend.
I thought they were so cute together that I wish we had more of them as a couple in the book.
Aside from the romance, I also loved loved all the non-romantic relationships in the book. I especially appreciated the close relationship between Ellie and her sister Remy, Ellie and Lia, and Remy and her BFF Cam (Jack's brother). I loved Remy as a character, and as a sister. She was always there for Ellie, but also was ready to give it to her straight when Ellie was in the wrong.
I didn't like how repetitive the book got at times. For example, Ellie rightfully had misgivings about trusting Jack after how he treated her, but for most of the book, whenever she had any positive thoughts about him, she'd follow it up with but I can't trust him after the way he treated me.
Overall this was an adorable and age appropriate YA romance with some magical aspects. Highly recommended for YA readers.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this eARC.
A Bride's Guide to Marriage Murder takes place around Frances and George's wedding. Their honeymoon is interrupted by news that their neighbor has been murdered, and the main suspect is Frances' brother. Frances and George together try to figure out who the real murderer is, but there might be more murders before they can.
I quite enjoyed this book! It was a fast-paced, fun mystery and the characters were loveable. Filled with humor and a great cast of whimsical characters, this was a wonderful historical cozy mystery.
Even though this is book #5 in a series I haven't read before, I didn't find it to be an issue at all. The book does a great job of filling the blanks without making it seem like an info dump. Definitely safe to read as a standalone.
The mystery itself was quite fun, and while I figured out the details of the murder, I still enjoyed the journey, and it was never obvious enough to make me think, “Come on, get there already!” In fact, I really enjoyed the way the mystery was woven together and then revealed, it didn't drag its feet, and everything made sense.
Even though this book is not a romance, I quite enjoyed the romance between Frances and George. I loved the respect and trust they have in each other, and the way George embraces Frances fully.
The relationships and dialogue between the many characters seemed very genuine, I'm sure it helps that this is now the 5th book and all these are well established characters, but the familiarity, love and care most of the people had for each other was heart warming. I also loved all the various family relationships they had in the book. There was real love among the family members, even if sometimes they got on each others' nerves.
Overall this was a delightful and fun mystery that had me turning the pages to see what happens to the characters as much as to figure out the murderer.
Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the eARC for this fun mystery!
This was my second David Sedaris book. I read Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls 6 years ago as an audiobook and absolutely loved it. GoodReads tells me I even rated it 5 stars! Which back then was even more rare for me than it is now. I especially recommend reading his books as an audiobook.
This is an honest, at times brutal, at times ludicrous, and usually privileged recount of David's own life focused mostly in the last two years. There are a lot of essays on his father and his contentious relationship with him, as well as his sister Tiffany's accusations against their father, and finally his death. Aside from his father, his essays cover a wide range: about his relationship with his boyfriend Hugh, his experience with the BLM protests, New York during the height of the pandemic, his love of shopping, and some great stories from his tours.
I like David's brand of brutally honest sharp humor. He shares his thoughts without filter, even when they may put him in a bad light. He's wont to say things that make you think, should he really be saying this? There were some stories in the book that were so wild, that I had to share them with others and question WTF? out loud.
The book has a good balance of realness and humor. He manages to fit in jokes (albeit sometimes inappropriate ones) even in the most serious stories, and great insights in the most wacky ones. Sedaris is not the most likeable and I don't think he tries to be. His privilege shows through many times, and he's way too judgmental against others, but he writes with honesty and heart. He finds the special in the mundane and is not afraid to share the difficult stories.
Starry-Eyed Love is the second book in the Spark House romance series. In this book London Sparks crosses paths with a multi-millonaire, Jackson Holt. When they start working together they decide they can't pursue a romantic relationship, However, as they spend more and more time together, their growing chemistry and feelings will complicate matters.
This was a cute and entertaining romance! Reading it was a breeze and I enjoyed getting to know the Sparks sisters more. You don't have to have read the first book to read this one.
I liked the first book in the series, but this one was definitely better for me. I really enjoyed the couple in this one a lot more. I loved how the serious businessman Jackson lost all his edge and toughness with London. I loved that London was the one to initiate a lot of the steamy scenes, I'm always here for sexually empowered women!
Their relationship was also very believable. Even though they were from very different backgrounds, they had a lot of commonalities. They both lost their parents, neither of them really gave love a chance, and they were both workaholics. I liked that this meant that they could understand and relate to each other on a deeper level and this helped grow their relationship.
While there's nothing wrong with being a workaholic, if that is your priorities in life, I did like that London and Jackson found in each other someone that made them want to reprioritize their life and put love first.
Even though their attraction starts as insta-love the fact that they can't date while spending all this time together means that they have a lot of time to bond and get to know each other outside a relationship. So when they do get together, you know that they understand each other on a deeper level.
Unfortunately miscommunication trope and blowing things out of proportion plays a big part in the main conflict, but at least I did like the resolution to the conflict.
The sister relationship played a big part in this book, similar to the first book in the series. I love that this series has such close sister relationship, but this book made me wish they would just sit down and talk instead of letting issues grow and grow until they came to a head. I love seeing positive sister relationships in books and the way they treated each other in this one, honestly made me sad at times. Plus, somehow Avery from the first book came off as a terribly selfish person in this book which was hard to reconcile with her character from book 1.
Overall rating ⭐⭐⭐.8, rounded to 4.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC!
The Italian Job finds Anna and Jake having to pretend they're together in order to score a dream job.
I really enjoyed reading this heartwarming book.I couldn't put the book down and was up until 6am reading it!
I loved the setting! Italy, Lake Como, castle?! Does it get any better than that?! I mean I would also pretend to date someone I don't get along with for that kind of a job, don't tell the hubby.
Merged review:
The Italian Job finds Anna and Jake having to pretend they're together in order to score a dream job.
I really enjoyed reading this heartwarming book.I couldn't put the book down and was up until 6am reading it!
I loved the setting! Italy, Lake Como, castle?! Does it get any better than that?! I mean I would also pretend to date someone I don't get along with for that kind of a job, don't tell the hubby.