Tag: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Wedding Issues by Elle Evans

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 352 pages
Author: Elle Evans
Publisher: Zibby Books
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Competition for a bridal magazine cover unleashes frenemy mayhem and family sparring in this hilarious, frothy debut. Olivia “Liv” Fitzgerald, soon-to-be-lawyer, can talk anyone into anything. Well, almost anything. When her scheming aunt throws her cousin, Kali, into a competition for a bridal magazine cover alongside Liv’s best friend, Leighton, all hell breaks loose. To save the day, Liv only has to

a) Secure the Southern Charme cover for Leighton,
b) Keep Aunt Charlotte happy and Kali’s wedding running smoothly,
c) Finish her final year of law school and nab a coveted NYC big-law job, and
d) Win over the guy of her dreams.

What, like it’s hard? With sparkling prose, debut author Elle Evans gives us a hysterical, moving twist on the classic bride wars story. Readers will root for Liv as she balances her schemes, dreams, and double Maid of Honor duties, discovering that integrity might be more important than smooth talking―even if it means she can’t please everyone at once.

Thank you to Zibby Books for the gifted ARC.

A BIT TOO MUCH DRAMA.

I went in with good hopes about this one. It sounded charming and humorous and full of hijinks. Buuuut I think those shenanigans crossed a line into the ridiculous and I was increasingly frustrated with what was happening.

There were some cute moments and I liked seeing Olivia work things out for her life. She gets walked all over a bit before finally apologizing and going after the things she want too. I wish the focus would have been more on Olivia and not the other two brides.

Also, to note, this isn’t a romance. It’s fiction with a tiny dash of romance. I really wish Will had played a larger role in the story too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fiction
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: one fade to black

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Reading Wrap-Up: March 2024

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Spring is here! And apparently that meant READ ALL THE THINGS. A good list of books to add to your TBR below!

Favorite books this month:

  • The Rule Book
  • The House on Biscayne Bay
  • A Drop of Venom
  • When the Moon Hatched
  • Walking on Hidden Wings
  • But He’s My Fake Fiancé
  • Off the Beaten Path
  • The Simple Wild
  • The Blooms that Broke Us
  • Radiance of the Moon
  • The Foxglove King
  • This Could Be Us
  • The Roads We Follow
  • Always Choosing You
  • Betrothal or Breakaway
  • The Rom-Commers

Least favorites this month:

  • A Promise Kept
  • Heart of the Valkyrie
  • On Thin Ice
  • In the Orbit of You
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  • [ARC] A Promise Kept by A.N. Horton
  • [ALC] The Rule Book by Sarah Adams
  • [ARC] The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties (Aunties #3) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
  • Reign of Darkness (The Fallen Kingdoms #2) by K.B. Benson
  • With a Little Luck (Fortuna Beach #2) by Marissa Meyer
  • [ARC] Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus
  • [ARC] The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton
  • The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester
  • An Improper Gentleman (Improper Agreements #2) by Audra Wells
  • Heart of the Valkyrie (The Vinland to Valhalla Saga #1) by Melanie Karsak
  • [ARC] A Feather So Black (Fair Folk #1) by Lyra Selene
  • [ARC] On Thin Ice by Anna Augustine
  • A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel
  • [ARC] A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9) by Deanna Raybourn
  • Lore of the Wilds (Lore of the Wilds #1) by Analeigh Sbrana
  • The Blood Vier (Blood Vier #1) by Christy R. Harrill
  • When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall #1) by Sarah A. Parker
  • [ALC/ARC] Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • [ARC] Walking on Hidden Wings by Rachel Scott McDaniel
  • All This Twisted Glory (This Woven Kingdom #3) by Tahereh Mafi
  • [ARC] But He’s My Fake Fiancé (But He’s a Carter Brother #3) by Annah Conwell
  • Off the Beaten Path (The Mountains are Calling #1) by Madison Wright
  • Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan
  • In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher
  • [Reread] The Simple Wild (The Simple Wild #1) by K.A. Tucker
  • Queen of Shifting Sands (Instanolde Chronicles #1) by Kaitlyn Carter Brown
  • [ARC] The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
  • The Words We Lost (Fog Harbor #1) by Nicole Deese
  • The Blooms That Broke Us by Ashley Dill
  • Radiance of the Moon by Ashley Worrell
  • The Foxglove King (The Nightshade Crown #1) by Hannah F. Whitten
  • This Could Be Us (Skyland #2) by Kennedy Ryan
  • The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allen
  • [ARC] If the Tide Turns by Rachel Rueckert
  • See Me As I Am by Cheryl Wanner
  • Fall of the Horizon (Dusk and Dawn #1) by Jessica J. Ayala
  • [ARC] The Hemlock Queen (The Nightshade Crown #2) by Hannah F. Whitten
  • [ARC] The Roads We Follow (Fog Harbor #2) by Nicole Deese
  • Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle #4) by Christopher Paolini
  • Winds of Change (The Descended Trilogy #1) by Bailey Estep
  • [ARC] Always Choosing You (Scoops Series #2) by K. SInko
  • The Tainted Cup (Shadows of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett
  • [ARC] Betrothal or Breakaway (D.C. Eagles Hockey #3) by Leah Brunner
  • Divine (House of Oak #2) by Nichole Van
  • [ARC] The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

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ALC Book Review: The Rule Book by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

College sweethearts meet again years later, in this highly anticipated romance and companion story to the viral TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet.

Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender who also happens to be her extremely hot college ex-boyfriend. Nora didn’t end things as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it’s come back to haunt her. Derek is her first client as an official full-time sports agent and he’s holding a grudge.

Derek has set his sights on a little friendly revenge. If Nora Mackenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh he’ll let her be his agent. The plan is make Nora’s life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved—she won’t quit easily.

Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning married. With their rule book out the window, could this new relationship be the thing to save their careers?

Thank you to PRHAudio for the free audiobook.

HELD UP.

Honestly y’all. I was nervous about this one. But honestly, I loved it. It had all of the charm and swoon that I love and adore in Sarah Adams books. I laughed out loud multiple times at the well placed jokes and banter between Nora and Derek. The set-up worked really well and I loved seeing both of them pursue their separate passions while finding a way to reconnect.

My tiny quip is that I just didn’t understand the reason for breaking up in the first place. One small conversation could have changed the entire trajectory (which is an issue I often have in second chance romance books and it’s a me thing, BUT STILL).

I loved the forced proximity moments and hot dang Derek has a heated way with words. This is my favorite level of heat and steam and I looooved the combination. The audiobook narrators did an amazing job. I really appreciate with dual POV having two narrators.

And I am OBSESSED with how much we got to see Derek’s friend group (including Nathan!!). I know a lot of focus is usually around great female friendships (which is awesome), I just loved that this one had Derek and his friends as a prominent aspect. I loved how they encouraged and pushed Derek to move forward and make things work with Bree.

Absolutely another hit for Sarah Adams. Her books bring me such joy.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: one open door; low explicit
  • Violence: low

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ARC Book Review: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery/Thriller
Length: 448 pages
Author: Holly Jackson
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the author of the multimillion bestselling A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series and Five Survive comes a new true-crime fueled mystery thriller about a girl determined to uncover the shocking truth about her missing mother while filming a documentary on the unsolved case.

Lights. Camera. Lies.

18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.

Thank you GetUnderlined #GetUnderlinedPartner for the free book.

PRETTY TWISTED.

The first almost 100 pages of this is kind of a slog, prepare now, keep going, the book gets infinitely better. Once things got going though I found myself devouring the pages trying to figure out what had happened to Rachel Price. I found it full of good twists and turns. It’s that right level of corrupt without feeling like too much for me but also bringing all of the atmospheric vibes I love about a good thriller.

I loved that Bel landed in this gray zone about her choices and working to uncover the truth. I was absolutely following her into every snuck away moment and confrontation. She might come off as an unlikeable character, but I liked her plenty. I also really liked how messed up this family was. It worked for the plot and showcased a lot of morality choices that will leave you thoughts.

Holly Jackson is easily one of my favorite thriller authors and this was another great read for me. Unhealthy characters, an enigma of a plot and a few moments where my jaw was hanging open.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Thriller
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, imprisonment

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