Category: Book Review

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: June 2023

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SUMMERTIME READING has been a blast and I LOVE how many great indie books I read this month!! Anything on my favorites list are considered must read recommendations.

Favorites this month:

  • American Gauntlet
  • The Pocket Pair
  • Spark of the Everflame
  • Queen of Shadows (Reread)
  • Same Time Next Summer
  • Love, Theoretically
  • Empire of Storms
  • The Seven Year Slip
  • Back to Class
  • The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley
  • Foul Heart Hunstman
  • The Matrimonial Advertisement
  • Fear the Flames

Least favorites:

  • Crossroads of Twilight
  • Love Songs Suck by Beck Monson
  • [ARC] American Gauntlet by Allie Lewis
  • An Improbable Season (Unexpected Seasons #1) by Rosalyn Eves
  • [ARC] Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones
  • Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
  • [ARC] The Pocket Pair (Graham Brothers #3) by Emma St. Clair
  • Starlight (Angels of Elysium #3) by Olivia Wildenstein
  • The Duchess Takes a Husband (The Gilded Age Heiresses #4) by Harper St. George
  • Spark of the Everflame (Kindred’s Curse #1) by Penn Cole
  • [ALC] Borrow My Heart by Kasie West
  • [Reread] Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Queen Charlotte by Julie Quinn and Shonda Rhimes
  • [ARC] A Beautiful Disguise (The Imposters #1) by Roseanna M. White
  • I’m Not Charlotte Lucas by Kasey Stockton
  • Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
  • [ARC] Betting on the Best Friend’s Brother (Betting on Love #2) by Melanie Jacobson
  • The Tarnished (The Blameless #2) by E.S. Christison
  • [Reread] A Kingdom of Exiles (Outcast #1) by S.B. Nova
  • You First by Caitlin Moss
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • [Reread] Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Things We Hide From the Light (Knockemout #2) by Lucy Score
  • Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time #10) by Robert Jordan
  • [ARC] Kiss the Girl (Meant to Be #3) by Zoraida Cordova
  • Heart of the Raven Prince (Entangled With Fae #2) by Tessonja Odette
  • Threads That Bind (Threads That Bind #1) by Kika Hatzopoulou
  • [ALC] The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • [Novella] A Duchess for the Duke (Clairvoir Castle Romance #0.5) by Sally Britton
  • Back to Class (The Thornback Society #3) by Aspen Hadley
  • [ALC] Dark Water Daughter (The Winter Sea #1) by H.M. Long
  • Honorably Engaged (Bradwell Brothers #3) by Kasey Stockton
  • The Lost God by Sheila Masterson
  • The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata
  • Ruling Destiny (Stolen Beauty #2) by Alyson Noel
  • The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh
  • The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune #2) by Chloe Gong
  • The Matrimonial Advertisement (Parish Orphans of Devon #1) by Mimi Matthews
  • [ARC] A Cross-Country Wedding (Road Trip Romance #2) by Courtney Walsh
  • Silver Bounty (The Royal Rose Chronicles #2) by Victoria McCombs
  • Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames #1) by Olivia Rose Darling

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Book Review: Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout #2) by Lucy Score

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 600 pages
Author: Lucy Score
Publisher: That’s What She Said Publishing
Release Date: February 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nash Morgan was always known as the good Morgan brother, with a smile and a wink for everyone. But now, this chief of police is recovering from being shot and his Southern charm has been overshadowed by panic attacks and nightmares. He feels like a broody shell of the man he once was. Nash isn’t about to let anyone in his life know he’s struggling. But his new next-door neighbor, smart and sexy Lina, sees his shadows. As a rule, she’s not a fan of physical contact unless she initiates it, but for some reason Nash’s touch is different. He feels it too. The physical connection between them is incendiary, grounding him and making her wonder if exploring it is worth the risk.

Too bad Lina’s got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she’s in town, he’ll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn’t do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she’s after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people’s skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he’s not about to be dissuaded…even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.

THIS SERIES.

I am enjoying it so much!! Book one is still my favorite, but this was a great read that I continually loved spending time with.

Nash has my heart. I looooved watching his growth as he worked through his demons and allowed himself the space to love and be loved by his family, friends and especially Lina. Same goes for her too. I thought she exhibited great character changes too. Innuendo was out of my comfort zone and I wish there was less of that (overall, but especially in the beginning). The slow burn was there at least for the general spice.

The romantic suspense elements are a bit give/go for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what doesn’t fit for me, but there’s just something. I DO love a possessive, jealous Nash moment though. Gimme all of those. There’s so many good scenes in here that I got caught up in.

And the EPILOGUE? Talk about turning me into absolute MUSH. I adored it. And now I am chomping at the bit to get my hands on the next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very strong
  • Romance: 4+ open; high explicit + high innuendo throughout
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, panic attacks, murder, mentions of childhood heart problems, near death experiences, loss of memory

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Book Review: Falling Embers (Tattered & Torn #2) by Catherine Cowles

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Romantic Suspense
Length: 318 pages
Author: Catherine Cowles
Publisher: PageSmith LLC
Release Date: April 12th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I loved Calder Cruz from the moment he taught me to fly. He might’ve been my brother’s best friend but he was my everything.

The only who understood me. My safest place. My person.

Until one night changed it all and we became strangers in a single breath.

Now, years later, I see him every day at the fire station. I watch him raise adorable twin girls as a single dad. But he has no idea how hard it was to see him move on without me.

How much I still burn for him.

A twist of fate changes everything. When my life is on the line, it’s Calder who saves me–who comes charging back into my heart with a vengeance. And makes it clear he’s determined to stay.

But as long-buried embers light anew, there are those who lurk in the shadows. And they’ll do whatever it takes to extinguish that flame for good…

NEW FAV.

This is now my current favorite in the series. HOW I LOVED THEM.

Calder and Hadley have my whole heart. I loved this combination of second chance + friends to lovers + unrequited love. It worked so well and they were just so sweet on each other!! It’s fast paced and full of longing and hope. Many sentiments had me swooning and loving every moment.

These continue to lean towards the dramatics and I don’t care one bit. I love the suspense elements that keep me on my toes. Just when I thought the end was near, BAM, someone else came out and chose violence that day and I was on pins and needles trying to read fast enough to get to the resolution. I love all of the protective heroes and everything in this small town.

Hadley’s Mother is still enraging and hoping that continues to resolve over the course of the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantic Suspense
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: three very brief open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, extreme cyber bullying, near death car wrecks, child endangerment, stalking

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ARC Book Review: Appointment in Bath (Somerset Stories #4) by Mimi Matthews

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 288 pages
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: June 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance meeting between the sheltered daughter and the forward-thinking son of rival Victorian families sparks a forbidden romance in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s fourth book in her acclaimed Somerset Stories series.

Shy and stammering Meg Burton-Smythe has spent the whole of her life living on the fringes of local society. She’s more comfortable with her daydreams than she is with people. But when a dashing, golden-haired hero rides to her rescue one morning, she dares to hope that her dreams might finally come true. There’s only one problem: her handsome rescuer is the son of her father’s sworn enemy.

Ivo Beresford doesn’t believe in clinging to the past. Freshly returned from a lengthy grand tour, he’s looking to the future, eager to spearhead the building of a new railway extension in Somersetshire. But an unexpected encounter with Meg Burton-Smythe, the isolated only daughter of his parents’ oldest foe, sets the past and the future colliding.

Resolved to put ancient grudges to rest—at least where innocent young ladies are concerned—Ivo encourages lonely Meg to embark on a secret acquaintance. After all, what harm can a friendship do? It isn’t as though there’s any danger of the two of them falling in love…

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

I LOVE MEG.

She was the best part of this whole book. I LOVED her journey. She learned who she was, stood up for herself to those around her and just did the dang thing. I loved her character and she’s a new favorite.

And I’m obsessed with this whole series. I love that we get this second generation of stories now because I’m even more in love with the whole family. I adored Ivo as well. He went on a good journey too and I appreciated his sunshine energy. The balance of friendship to romance was well paced and you could feel the tension between these two, even though the romance is forbidden (you know you want to read it now).

I’m such a Mimi Matthews fan. Her books add this perfect level of edge to the historical genre without adding spice. There’s romantic ball scenes, horse rides through the countryside and secret meetings. I LOVED IT ALL.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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