Tag: Book blog

Book Review: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 369 pages
Author: Josie Silver
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: March 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade, and Lydia thought their love was indestructible.

But she was wrong. On her twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident.

So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants to do is hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life–and perhaps even love–again.

But then something inexplicable happens that gives her another chance at her old life with Freddie. A life where none of the tragic events of the past few months have happened.

Lydia is pulled again and again across the doorway of her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. But there’s an emotional toll to returning to a world where Freddie, alive, still owns her heart. Because there’s someone in her new life, her real life, who wants her to stay.

Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them.

LACKED PLOT.

I had such a hard time reading this book. Not because of the nature of it, but because it lacked a lot more substance to bring the story home.

This book hurt. I feel like anyone with a significant other will attest to that. It’s not a light read. Grief, depression, devastation, all topics on this scale are discussed. I wanted to connect more to the characters and lives of everyone, but never quite got there.

It was unique to have two different worlds Lydia could live in while she was working through her grief, but I also feel this really hindered her. It slowed everything down and rather than watching her move forward (at her own pace) it felt like everything was held back. I thought a handful of sub-plots weren’t necessary and didn’t fit in with the narrative.

And the ending, I was wishing the entire time that that wouldn’t happen. Then it did, and I felt conflicted? I thought the writing was engaging enough to give hope to the end, even if I may not be completely on board.

I don’t have a lot to say towards this. I think it will hit hard for some and be a miss for others. And while it was a miss for me, it didn’t detract from the pain I know I would feel it something like this happened to me. Everyone does grieve in their own ways and while I may have struggled with this book, I think it brought up a lot of good topics and talking points that could be discussed with others.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: a few fade to black scenes, nothing descriptive
  • Trigger warnings: car wreck causing the loss of a loved one, depression/grief

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Book Review: Once More Upon A Time by Roshani Chokshi

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance Novella
Length: Audio: 3 hours, 26 mins
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: Audible
Release Date: June 4th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A dazzling fairy tale about falling in love again by the New York Times best-selling author of The Star-Touched Queen and The Gilded Wolves.

Once upon a time, there was a king and queen in a land called Love’s Keep who once loved one another, but alas, no more. Without love, they were doomed to be ousted from their kingdom at the end of a year and a day.

A year and a day passed.

This is where their story starts.

Imelda and Ambrose can’t remember why they got married. A year and a day ago, Ambrose consulted a witch, trading their love to save Imelda’s life – and they’ve been stuck with one another ever since. When that same witch pays them a visit on the day they lose their kingdom, she promises to make their deepest wishes come true in exchange for a simple favor and a short journey. With nothing left to lose, Imelda and Ambrose agree. But, over the course of their enchanted road trip peppered with a delirious cloak, cannibals, and at least one honey badger, something magical happens…little by little, step by step, they regain what they had forgotten.

They remember why they fell in love.

When the end of their journey nears and they confront parting ways forever, a new decision faces them. Will Imelda and Ambrose choose their deepest wishes, or will they choose each other – again?

FAIRYTALE.

No really, this was legit one of those books where everything screamed a fairy tale. A King and Queen, an evil witch, a daring adventure, a noble steed, you think it should be there, it is.

Which was its goodness and its downfall.

I listened to this on a whim because it was available through my Audible account for free (who can pass up free?). I wasn’t expecting much of a little novella. This was cute and sweet and made me laugh a few times while listening to it.

There’s a lot shoved in for a 3.5 hour audio book which was nice. I felt like I still got enough background and information on characters to care what happened and it was a nice story to listen to in-between bigger books. I enjoyed how Ambrose and Imelda remembered how the had fallen in love and got a chance to start anew. Plenty of good tid-bits in here. Some pieces were definitely silly, but I feel if you go into this knowing that and knowing how much of a fairy tale it is, you’ll find the enjoyable pieces too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fairy tale romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses, one closed door scene
  • Violence: physical, poison

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Book Review: The Happy Ever After Playlist (The Friend Zone #2) by Abby Jimenez

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 401 pages
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 14th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone comes an adorable and fresh romantic comedy about one trouble-making dog who brings together two perfect strangers.

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can’t deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There’s no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

STELLAR MEET-CUTE.

Oh so much better than The Friend Zone.

What’s ironic to me is that even if I have some issues with these books, I devour them in a day. The writing is easy to dive in fast and not come up for a breath. Things move at a great pace that has you wanting more. Problems are overlooked and the flipping can’t stop until the happy ending is reached. So yes, while I gave this 4 stars, trust me, it’ll keep your interest.

I’m so happy we got a Sloan story. I liked the way grief was handled in this book. I know it looks different for all of us and I appreciated the way it was woven into this story. Sloan went through a lot (to put it mildly) and I like the way this romance came about in her life. Sweet and flirty text/phone conversations? I’m all of that modern take on romance. Jason had me smiling from moment one, and throwing a cute dog into the mix is definitely a way to my heart.

At times I thought the drama felt over worked and a bit out there. Yet, I guess that’s also part of being a celebrity. While I was frustrated with how Jason handled things, I did at least see his side of it. Sloan and Jason’s relationship wasn’t easy and that’s honestly one of the best parts of THEA. I like seeing couples have to work through things, have the difficult conversation, and really decide if this is where they want to be.

The totally cliche ending did make me incredibly happy. I like a good movie moment in a book and since I was begging this to end well, I’m smitten with how extra it was. Sloan and Jason deserve all the happy ever afters.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: often and strong (one of issues is with the flagrancy)
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs; a few almost scenes (with detail), and a open door scene (mild detailed, less than The Friend Zone)
  • Violence: physical
  • Trigger warnings: discussion of losing a loved one, grief and depression

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ARC Book Review: Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance / Magical Realism
Length: 400 pages
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel &Friends
Release Date: November 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this young adult contemporary romance, a girl is suddenly gifted with the ability to cast instant karma on those around her—both good and bad.

Chronic overachiever Prudence Daniels is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to karaoke hecklers, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner and all-around mortal enemy. Soon, Pru begins to uncover truths about Quint, her peers, and even herself that reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed . . . love and hate.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the audio book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own!

IT WAS CUTE.

Since I read this an audio book ARC, I wanted to mention my thoughts on the audio. I thought the narrator was great and found it to be easy listening. I kept it at 1.5x – 1.75x depending on what I was doing at the time while listening. Definitely would recommend reading it as an audio book if you enjoy that option!

I love Marissa Meyer’s books. I am a big fan of her fantasy books. Reading her first contemporary romance? ALL OVER IT.

This was a cute Beatles-inspired young adult romance. I loved the beach setting and marine ecology aspects. It felt relevant without being pushy and I learned a lot just from the setting alone. There was knowledge of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing multiple marine animals and the center goes about achieving their ultimate goal of getting these animals back to the wild.

Prudence was our dear main character. Oh, how I struggled with her for 80% of the book. I kept expecting some more character growth from her, but felt it happened too close to the end. She leaned towards selfish and so completely single-mindedly focused that I wanted to jump in the book and tell her what she’s missing. With all of the damage done before getting to some evolution in her character it became a bit of a let down.

Quint was precious. And I’m genuinely amazed he was cool with Prudence being rude to him over and over again. I loved his interactions and banter. Quint had a great back story and was clearly devoted to helping the sea creatures in his care. I loved his nature and passion.

I did love their initial at last they kissed moment. It came at the right time and was sweet. I would have loved a longer ending with more of them because by the time I was really feeling it, the ending had arrived.

It’s overall a fun book and I’m happy that I read it. I love Meyer’s writing and will continue to read all the books by her. I’m also hoping for maybe more books with Pru’s brother, Jude (who I adored) and maybe even her friends? I thought there was some open options for more contemporaries in this world and I would love to read those too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult contemporary romance
  • Language: very little and light
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: injured sea animals that washed ashore, someone breaking their leg from a fall

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