ARC Book Review: First Impressions of You by Gabriela Graciosa Guedes

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 330 pages
Author: Gabriela Graciosa Guedes
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an immigrant woman, in possession of no green card, must be in want of a husband.

Luiza Bento will do anything in her power to stay in the United States, except follow what everyone seems to consider the best strategy: a marriage of convenience for the green card.

She’s determined to find a job that will get her to stay, but finding an acting job as a plus-size Latina is hard enough. One that will sponsor her visa? Almost impossible.

After months of working at a theme park, an opportunity to audition for their theater department finally comes around. The only problem? She’s starring opposite Winter Davis, a high-and-mighty snob, who seems to think his past as a child star makes him better than everyone.

How can they play long-lost friends madly in love if their first impressions of each other were anything but friendly?

Brazilian author Gabriela Graciosa Guedes’s debut, FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF YOU, is a modern-day Pride and Prejudice retelling set in Los Angeles, with a theme park as the backdrop.

Prepare to fall in love with your next brooding book boyfriend in this delicious slow burn filled with banter and steam! 2023

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

IT WAS OKAY.

I feel like this hit that middle ground of reads for me. I liked some things, and did not like others. Lets get into it.

What I struggled with was the surface level feeling the book gave me. And the chaotic drama that I never got on board with. The beginning felt forced between Winter and Luiza and when the relationship started I just wasn’t into the chemistry between them.

The setting is fun with the Movieland concept and performing shows. I enjoyed Luiza as a main character. She felt authentic and was someone that I wanted to cheer on and hope that they got what they were after. Luiza was passionate about being an actress and I loved that for her. Things do wrap up well and I admit the second half was better. There’s some good quotable confessions from Winter and you get to see his soft side break through.

It very much is a Pride and Prejudice retelling and I liked noticing those aspects too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open door; low-moderate explicit

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Book Review: The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release Date: August 16th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing… but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

The Drowned Woods—set in the same world as The Bone Houses but with a whole new, unforgettable cast of characters—is part heist novel, part dark fairy tale.

WAS I MISSING SOMETHING?

I spent the entire book thinking I was missing some critical aspects of information? I know this is set in the same world as The Bone Houses (which I have read) so I’m not sure if that’s where the background info was but without what I thought I needed this book was lackluster.

And I tend to love heist books?! I do find them hard to accomplish in one book only 400 pages though. Especially when you add in multiple points of view. Many characters + many backgrounds + many different decision makers makes for not enough time spent on each character to get a true feel and depth for them.

Some of the plot pieces were kind of cool. I liked the idea and think others might enjoy this book much more than I did. There’s some good friendship rekindling and a tiny dash of romance.

Nothing surprising or overly enchanting for me. I never got frustrated with it (which is why three stars over two), it just needed a lot more for me to love it.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild

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ARC Book Review: A Beautiful Disguise (The Imposters #1) by Roseanna M. White

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Mystery + Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Roseanna M. White
Publisher: Bethany House
Release Date: August 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm marketed to the elite . . . to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society when they want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.

Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the most elite guard, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects a man of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries, but needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.

Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.

Thank you to Bethany House for the gifted book!

ENJOYABLE.

I had a good time with this one!

The mystery was intriguing and I liked how it all played out. Things kept twisting just enough that I kept wondering how it would all work out in the end.

I also really liked the cast of characters too. It’s multi-POV and each angle added to the story. I especially loved having both Merritt and Marigold’s views as they were the main couple of this book. I would have LOVED even a little bit more romance, but I did love the sweet moments they had. Especially how Merritt handled some information that could have resulted poorly. I loooove a reasonable man.

There were some openings for sequels to this that I would like to read too! More romantic plot lines are there and there’s always room for more mysteries.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Mystery + Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, grief, loss of a sibling (side character)

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Book Review: Advanced Physical Chemistry (Chemistry Lessons #3) by Susannah Nix

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 274 pages
Author: Susannah Nix
Publisher: Haver Street Press
Release Date: March 16th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After four lousy boyfriends in a row, chemical engineer Penny Popplestone swears off men until she can figure out why they keep cheating on her. But her no-men resolution hits a snag when the mysterious and superhumanly hot barista at her favorite coffee shop strikes up a friendship with her.

Penny strives to keep things platonic, but when Caleb gives her the kiss of her life, she realizes he wants to be more than just friends. Tired of always being “good little Penny,” she throws caution to the wind and pursues a no-strings fling with the hottie barista. It’s not like they have anything in common beyond scorching physical chemistry, so what does she have to lose?

Only her heart.

Now, this fanfic-reading, plus-size heroine faces an unsolvable problem. What do you do when being apart is unbearable…but being together is impossible?

Advanced Physical Chemistry is the third in a series of standalone rom-coms featuring geeky heroines who work in STEM fields.

IT WAS OKAY.

I don’t know if I would have kept reading this if it wasn’t for speeding up the audiobook.

For a STEM heroine there wasn’t even much STEM conversation? I guess I was expecting a lot more since that seems to be the theme of this series and it wasn’t here. Much more about knitting and coffee. Which was alright, but nothing exciting.

There was practically no chemistry between these two. Penny decides she wants a friends with benefits relationship (other thing I don’t love) and instead of watching them realize their feelings for each other it was mostly them arguing. Caleb never wanted to talk about anything important and Penny wanted to make him talk about things. I never got behind the thought that they would actually make it past the end of the book (even though the epilogue says otherwise).

Meh. I don’t even feel like writing this review because of how unmemorable this book was. Moving on.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating (not between the main couple), rough parent relationships