Tag: audiobook

Book Review: A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak (Girl’s Guide) by Laura Taylor Namey

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Laura Taylor Namey
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this highly anticipated companion to the New York Times bestseller A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, Flora Maxwell heads to Miami to find a path for her future… and finds her heart along the way.

Winchester, England, has always been home for Flora, but when her mother dies after a long illness, Flora feels untethered. Her family expects her to apply to university and take a larger role in their tea-shop business, but Flora isn’t so sure. More than ever, she’s the chaotic “hurricane” in her household, and she doesn’t always know how to manage her stormy emotions.

So she decides to escape to Miami without telling anyone—especially her longtime friend Gordon Wallace.

But Flora’s tropical change of scenery doesn’t cast away her self-doubt. When it comes to university, she has no idea which passions she should follow. That’s also true in romance. Flora’s summer abroad lands her in the flashbulb world of teen influencer Baz Marín, a Miami Cuban who shares her love for photography. But Flora’s more conflicted than ever when she begins to see future architect Gordon in a new light.

Laura Taylor Namey’s newest novel navigates heartbreak that feels like a hurricane in a city that is famous for them.

I LIKED THE ENDING MOST.

Y’all know me, I’m not big on love triangles and I feel like I got lost in this one for a bit. Though I will admit to enjoying how things worked out for all parties in the end. It was way less dramatic and felt a lot more realistic and genuine.

I liked seeing the ups and downs of Flora’s journey. She definitely made some quick decisions that left her in hot water, and as those reasons unfurled you saw a very hurt soul who needed a safe place to be. I love that in the end she recognizes her need for help and admittance of things to work on. Character growth will always be my favorite.

It’s a fast read with a little bit of swoon and fake dating, LOTS of great photography content and a sweet group of people who are growing up.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: death of a mother from dementia

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Book Review: Locked in Pursuit (Electra McDonnell #4) by Ashley Weaver

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Mystery + Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Ashley Weaver
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: May 14th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The fourth instalment in the delightful series following safecracker Electra McDonnell fighting Nazis at every turn as World War II looms over London.

Safecracker Ellie McDonnell hasn’t seen Major Ramsey―her handsome but aloof handler in the British government―since their tumultuous mission together three months before, but when she hears about a suspicious robbery in London she feels compelled to contact him. Together they discover that a rash of burglaries in the city all lead back to a hotbed of spies in the neutral city Lisbon, Portugal, and an unknown object brought to London by a mysterious courier.

As the thieves become more desperate and their crimes escalate, it becomes imperative that Ellie and Ramsey must beat them at their own game. Fighting shadowy assailants, enemy agents, and the mutual attraction they’ve agreed not to acknowledge, Ellie and Ramsey work together to learn if it truly takes a thief to catch a thief.

I AM OBSESSED.

Gooooood heavens I am upset that I am caught up on this series because I NEED THE LAST BOOK. I loved this installment!! It was another amazing addition. I am loving Ellie and Ramsey’s journey. I love all of the mystery. I love the family members and friendships. There is not one bad thing I have to say about this book. I JUST WANT TO BEG EVERYONE TO GO READ IT.

I won’t say much else since this is the fourth book in a series. The progressive character arcs and overall plot line has been fantastic though. Each book has my full attention and I love how quick of a read they are. It’s a series I didn’t know I needed and now can’t stop thinking about.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Mystery + Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: WW2 themes, gun and weapons violence

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Book Review: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.
She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

IT’S A VIBE.

I liked this one! I don’t think it had the same break-out five star feel AC’s previous book did but I had a hoot listening to this one. I loved the winter and holiday vibes and even though I haven’t seen Knives Out, I understood the assignment. There was also a Clue-esque feel to it that I liked too.

And I am a sucker for a dual POV romance with some very specific types of reveals and this one had those (!!!). I swooned so hard and I loved the hate to love dynamic between Maggie and Wyatt.

It’s a quick read and I felt like it fit the holiday atmosphere well. The mystery came together in the end well and I look forward to more books by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Mystery Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fiction
Length: 560 pages
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: October 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose.”

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the gifted book.

WHAT A JOURNEY.

The Poisonwood Bible was one of the only books I enjoyed in high school and I thought it was about time I picked up another Kingsolver book. It did not disappoint. While not my usual genre, or preference (hello yes I love romance books), I love when I find something outside those circles that I love. This was that book.

I’m not sure I even have the right words to put into a review besides saying, read it. These kinds of stories are important and hard and one that is worth the thoughts it will bring. The moments that will be unforgettable and how much havoc can be reaped in one’s life.

The audiobook was amazing. I found the narrator easy to listen to juxtaposed to the story that I had a hard time listening to, but also could not put down. I read this much quicker than I expected because I had to know where Demon’s story wound take him. There’s many, many complex characters and the book is just made to be felt.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fiction
  • Language: moderate-high; throughout
  • Romance: a few open door scenes
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings (there are a lot and I might miss some so please look up more lists if you are concerned): drug abuse, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, foster abuse, physical abuse, racism, child hunger and poverty

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