Book Review: A Thousand Miles by Bridget Morrissey

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Bridget Morrissey
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 21st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After a decade of silence, Dee and Ben reunite for a road trip they once promised to take. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Dee Matthews is the cohost of the smash-hit podcast Did I Forget To Tell You?, where she interviews family, friends, and past lovers. Nothing is off limits, except for one man (known on the show only as Name Redacted) who happens to be her high school best friend Ben. During their senior year spring break, Dee and Ben took a road trip to visit Ben’s grandma. They buried a time capsule in her backyard, pledging to return in ten years to open it. Then their friendship fell apart in spectacular fashion. They haven’t spoken to each other since.

Ben Porter’s life since that moment has been unexciting but comfortable, until his grandma reveals a family secret that flips his whole world upside down. Her dying wish is for him to stop doing what is safest and go after what he really wants. He starts by showing up on Dee’s doorstep with every intention of fulfilling their long-ago promise. Despite her reservations, Dee can’t say no. This trip could be her chance to give her listeners the Name Redacted interview they’ve been begging for–and finally put her unresolved feelings for Ben to rest.

As the miles fly by, Dee and Ben’s friendship reignites. But the closer they get to reaching their destination, the more apparent it becomes that their attraction to each other cannot be ignored. Their last adventure ended in disaster, and they’re about to find out if any hope of a future together is in the rear view mirror.

MEH.

I’m writing this review only a few days after finishing this book and can hardly remember it. And that’s pretty much the crux of anything else I say after this point. It was fine, but not all the endearing.

I never liked the FMC, Dee. Something about her continually rubbed me the wrong way and I hated how she handled a lot of her interactions with Ben. Ben should have dropped his promise and moved right along. Admittedly, I did think there were some sweet moments. Those were very much overshadowed by everything else.

The podcast chapters were annoying. I didn’t think they added anything to the story (except for maybe the last one). It took me out and I just wanted to get back to the road trip. I did like the dual POV line-up because I love both sides of a tale.

And I think I’ve basically ran out of things to say, it was okay y’all. Moving along.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: infidelity mentioned, grief/loss depiction, death of a grandmother

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2023

GoodeyReads2 Comments

My reading went out of control this month when I went on a Sanderson graphic novel/novella binge. I am DETERMINED to get caught up on all of his major works.

Pretty great reading month all around. Check it out and let me know if you spy any of your favorites!

Favorite Books this Month!

  • The Isles of the Gods
  • A Class of Her Own
  • If Only You
  • Crown of Midnight
  • How to Kiss Your Enemy
  • The Bridge Kingdom
  • Jade Shards
  • Hello Stranger
  • Heir of Fire
  • The Traitor Queen
  • Properly Kissed
  • The Inadequate Heir
  • Pier Pressure
  • From Lukov With Love
  • Appointment in Bath
  • Heir of Fire
  • The Endless War
  • When Kingdoms Fall
  • One Last Play
  • Celestial

Least Favorites…

  • To Hunt a Demon King
  • Friendshipped
  • A Sea of Blood and Sapphire
  • Winter’s Heart
  • The Last Word
  • [ALC] The Isles of the Gods (The Isles of the Gods #1) by Amie Kaufman
  • A Class of Her Own (The Thornback Society #1) by Aspen Hadley
  • [Novella] Defending Elysium (Skyward #0.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • If Only You (Bergman Brothers #6) by Chloe Liese
  • The Secret Service of Tea and Treason (Dangerous Damsels #3) by India Holton
  • To Hunt a Demon King (King and Coven #1) by Madeleine Eliot
  • [Reread] Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] How to Kiss Your Enemy (Hawthorne Brothers #3) by Jenny Proctor
  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett
  • [Reread] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [ARC] Jade Shards (The Green Bone Saga #0.75) by Fonda Lee
  • Feather (Angels of Elysium #1) by Olivia Wildenstein
  • [ARC/ALC] Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
  • [Reread] Heir of Fire (Throne Of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
  • [ARC] King’s Bride (The Chronicles of Urn #1) by Beck Michaels
  • [Reread] The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [Novella] The Original by Brandon Sanderson
  • Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
  • Cursed Crowns (Twin Crowns #2) by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
  • [Short Story] The Hope of Elantris (Elantris #1.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Novella] Properly Kissed (Bradwell Brothers #0.5) by Kasey Stockton
  • Friendshipped (Getting Shipped #1) by Savannah Scott
  • [Short Story] The Eleventh Metal (The Mistborn Saga #0.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Short Story] Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (The Cosmere) by Brandon Sanderson
  • A Sea of Blood and Sapphire by Florence Gray
  • [ARC] A Lady’s Promise by Ranee S. Clark
  • The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
  • [Reread] The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom #3) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • The Blameless (The Blameless #1) by E.S. Christison
  • [Novella] Mistborn: Secret History (Mistborn #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
  • [Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 2 by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 3 by Brandon Sanderson
  • Winter’s Heart (The Wheel of Time #9) by Robert Jordan
  • Pier Pressure (Deadlights Cove #4) by Aimee Vance and B. Perkins
  • [Reread] From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
  • [Novella] Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Novella] Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson
  • One Night Only by Catherine Walsh
  • Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake #1) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ARC] Appointment in Bath (Somerset Stories #4) by Mimi Matthews
  • Dust (Heirs of Neverland #1) by Kara Swanson
  • The Endless War (The Bridge Kingdom #4) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [Reread] Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) by Pierce Brown
  • When Kingdoms Fall by Callie Dahl
  • The Stolen Throne (Dominions #2) by Abigail Owen
  • Love on Camera (The Wonder Boys #1) by Dana LeCheminant
  • One Last Play (Sweet Peach #4) by Annah Conwell
  • Celestial (Angels of Elysium #2) by Olivia Wildenstein
  • The Last Word by Katy Birchall

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph || TikTok

ARC Book Review: Along a Breton Shore by Arlem Hawks

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Arlem Hawks
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: June 6th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A soldier and a young woman, on opposite sides of the revolution, must run for their lives across a war-torn France in this gripping novel of friendship, love, and survival.

France, 1794

Maxence Étienne, a soldier for the République, believes fiercely in the revolution that is bringing liberty to France. But even though the monarchy has fallen and Maxence is part of a great cause, he is still searching for a place to belong.

Armelle Bernard is a young woman from Breton whose father was sentenced to death for hiding counterrevolutionaries. She decides to confront the priest who betrayed her father, and as the conflict escalates, she herself is ordered to be executed—an order to be carried out by Maxence.

Maxence has seen his share of violence and bloodshed, but he also carries a tragic secret and can’t bring himself to carry out his assignment. In allowing Armelle to escape, he is forced to combat a fellow soldier, who dies in the struggle.

Though Armelle and Maxence are strangers and on opposite sides of the revolution, they find themselves united as fugitives of the new republic. Now they must find a way to trust each other as they search for a path to peace, and to freedom.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain for an ARC.

LOVED.

There is something incredibly soothing about Arlem Hawks writing style. It is slow paced in all the best ways. I kept continually wanting to pick this up to know what happens next + taking my time with it to savor all of the goodness.

I adored this grumpy x sunshine duo of Maxence and Armelle. I can’t even begin to pick a favorite moment because I feel attached to them all. From the disasterous meeting to being chased by soldiers and learning new things about each other (and themselves), it’s all there. All of the beautiful character growth and hard things that make this book sing.

The setting is unique. Being apart of the French Revolution I learned a lot!! Especially with the notes at the end to further explain details and facts from this time period.

Alongside the main characters (and it’s dual POV y’all!!) the side characters were great too. I loved the roles the others played and was very anxious to get to the happy ending. Another fantastic historical romance read by an auto-read author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, near executions (and mentions of executions), near death experiences, gun violence, surgery, loss of loved ones, imprisonment

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: If Only You (Bergman Brothers #6) by Chloe Liese

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 376 pages
Author: Chloe Liese
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 11th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brace yourself for longing, laughter, and a swoony slow-burn in this brother’s best friend sports romance about scoring the love of your life when you least expect to.

Ziggy

I’m the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Which is where my brother’s best friend and teammate, the infamous Sebastian Marchand, comes in. 

Seb needs to rehab his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. He’s my devious, dark-haired fantasy come to life, but his destructive ways make it easy to keep him in the (fake) friend zone. Or so I thought, until I start to see the heart of gold he’s been hiding beneath that sinister surface…

Sebastian

Like any self-respecting reprobate, I’ve been spiraling downward, and finally I’ve hit rock bottom. My hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy, and while I’m not ready to actually reform my ways, I’m happy to pretend that I have, to secure the life I’m on the brink of losing. 

So when my best friend’s sister, Ziggy Bergman, proposes a public “friendship” to revamp our reputations, it’s an offer I can’t refuse. Up till now, I’ve stayed away from Ren’s sweet, shy little sister to avoid any risk of ruining my one good friendship. But I reassure myself there’s no risk in our scheme. I’ll fake a friendship with Ziggy, fix my reputation, and get back to hockey, the one and only thing I love. At least, it was, until what began as a transactional arrangement became the most loving relationship I’ve ever known.

​If Only You is a brother’s best friend, (fake) friends with benefits to friends to lovers romance about a bighearted, quietly fierce soccer star on the autism spectrum, and a thoroughly unprincipled, almost irredeemable hockey player who has celiac disease. Complete with an absurd level of mutual pining, meddling family and friends, and a spicy slow burn, this standalone is the sixth in a series of novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

I AM SOFT FOR THESE TWO.

Goodness gracious I binged this book so fast. Who knew I would love this take on fate dating?? I loved the fake friendship vibes. It was perfect and created all sorts of angst and tension and build. Had me absolutely wrapped up in Sebastian and Ziggy’s life.

I was smitten with the soft tender moments as Sebastian realizes just how much he loves Ziggy and the way that he works so hard to be the man he wants to be for her. But also how Ziggy balances that with showing him that that man is already there. I love that this was a slow burn and really gave time for the friendship to develop before bringing in a full relationship.

As usual, loved all of the side characters and familial moments. Loved the setting, the whole plot. All of the friend moments, sports moments and everything in between.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open, explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment recounted, emotional child abuse recounted, anxiety, chronic illness & pain (celiac disease), alcohol consumption, emesis

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph