Book Review: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

January 10, 2024January 19, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Talia Hibbert
Publisher: Joy Revolution
Release Date: January 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption–yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

LOVED THE REP.

This was my first Talia Hibbert book and I enjoyed it! It was a good young adult contemporary that brought a lot of things I love seeing in the genre.

The mental health rep was probably my favorite aspect. It was like being inside of my own mind and I appreciated seeing how these situations were handled and I love the kind responses and sincere friendships of loving who someone is as they are, without a need for change.

While occasionally frustrated with both characters I think that just stems from the age category. Mistakes are made, wrong things are said, BUT they are resolved and worked through and I realllllly love seeing that kind of work put into relationships (of all kinds).

Some of the plot set up with the camping, etc. was fine. I don’t feel like I was fully invested in those pieces. This was a heavily character driven story and that is my general sweet spot. I flew through this and thought the themes were right on point.

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: make-outs
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: anxiety and OCD rep, parental abandonment

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ALC Book Review: Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

January 9, 2024December 23, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Kristy Boyce
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: January 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When it comes to romance, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to play games. A fun YA romcom full of fake dating hijinks!

Musical lover Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she’s grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop.

Riley can’t waste her time working when she has a musical to save, so she convinces Nathan—a nerdy teen employee—to cover her shifts and, in exchange, she’ll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous.

But Riley didn’t realize that meant joining Nathan’s Dungeons & Dragons game…or that role playing would be so fun. Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn’t require as much acting as she would’ve thought…

Thank you to Get Underlined for my final copy and PRHAudio for the gifted audiobook.

THIS WAS CUTE.

I had no expectations going in other than hoping the cute cover would supply a cute book. And it did! Very much a young adult romance that is great for a younger audience.

The combination of theater and D&D was fun. I liked seeing both side of this and how you can do all the things you want too. The themes of not having to box yourself into one hobby or passion was important. I also loved seeing divorced parents who could still be amicable for their child and working on not being a negative influence about the other parent.

There’s some fake dating that does have the added high school drama. I loved the side characters and the audiobook was fantastic. If you’re in need of something quick and light I’d recommend this one!

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: none that I remeber
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: divorced parents, parent in the hospital

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden

January 9, 2024January 1, 2024 GoodeyReads1 Comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Author: Rachel Linden
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: January 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After a day of unrivaled disappointments, a promising young chef finds every bite of food suddenly tastes bitter. To save her career, she travels to the Pacific Northwest to reconnect with her estranged mom, and discovers a family legacy she never suspected in this delicious novel from the bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.

American chef Georgia May Jackson has one goal—to run her own restaurant in Paris. After a grueling decade working in Parisian kitchens, she is on the cusp of success. But in one disastrous night, Georgia loses her sous-chef position, her French boyfriend, and her sense of taste! Renowned for her refined palate and daring use of bold flavors to create remarkable dishes, Georgia is devastated to discover her culinary gift has simply…vanished.

When she receives a surprising invitation from her estranged mother, Georgia flees to a small island near Seattle hoping the visit will help her regain her spark in the kitchen. There she tentatively reconnects with her mom, a free-spirited hippie eager to make up for her past mistakes. But there’s something about the enigmatic island Georgia just can’t piece together. Good luck charms keep appearing in the oddest places. Her neighbor is a puzzlingly antagonist (and annoyingly handsome) oyster farmer. And her mom keeps hinting at a mysterious family legacy.

With the clock ticking and time running out to win her dream job in Paris, Georgia begins to unravel some astonishing secrets that make her wonder if the true recipe for a charmed life might look—and taste—very different than she ever imagined.

Thank you Berkley for my gifted copy.

DIDN’T QUITE CLICK.

Well folks, this one let me down a bit. Started off well and I was interested, and then things never picked up. It kind of felt one note throughout and I was waiting to feel INVESTED and that point never hit for me.

The cooking content was good, I love a book that makes me hungry. I liked the setting and there were aspects of the romance that I enjoyed too. It’s a slow burn with a dash of banter and forced proximity.

All of the family drama and secrets started to bug me too. I was tired of hearing I can’t tell you yet, OHMYGOSHJUSTTELLME. It felt added in to stretch out the book and I felt annoyed by this.

I liked that that Georgia had some growth and found where she wanted to be. I love a good full circle moment and this had the ones I was after.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Fiction + romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating boyfriend, a mother with drug abuse issues, parental abandonment, driving under the influence causing a car crash

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Agaped Bearer: Wishing Stars by Hannah Taylor Lindsey

January 9, 2024October 24, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Middle Grade Fantasy
Length: 584 pages
Author: Hannah Taylor Lindsey
Publisher: Starnate Publishing
Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The most powerful force in the universe falls out of the sky and into the hands of a magicless thirteen-year-old girl. Lisa Robbie, a freckled, soon-to-be-eighth-grade girl from Keyport, New Jersey, happens upon a shooting star that isn’t merely space debris but is magic—the Agapéd Magic. This leads her to a whole new way of life where she learns she has the most powerful magic in all four galaxies, a power that the Guardians have waited 120 years for… and they are not too thrilled about it.

The only person who sees her worthy enough to wield this magic is the 700-year-old brutish Wishing Star gardener, Gaius. Still, even he won’t tell her the Agapéd’s true purpose—the purpose for Lisa’s life. Why don’t they like me having this magic? What is so special about it? Why are they keeping me and this Agapéd Magic a secret?

Curiosity takes Lisa down a path of nightmares as the Agapéd Magic begins to take a toll on her heart, and she must decide if this new way of life is worth all the pain and sorrow tagged along with it.
. . .
The Agapéd Wishing Stars is the beginning of the epic light-versus-darkness saga, a fantasy adventure perfect for those who enjoy constant tugging at their heartstrings and plenty of magical encounters.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

VERY LONG.

I could see the good bones in this book. There’s some coming of age and being the chosen one and all that comes with when your thrust into something so young. I liked the learning moments and I didn’t mind the main character, Lisa, or Gaius. I liked their mentor/mentee relationship and the growth there. And the prince is cute too! I loved his addition and think that will play a much bigger role in the future books.

What brought this down for me was the length. With 600 pages and only 300-400 of those truly necessary. There were a lot of tangents and world dumping explanations. And I found myself skimming more than I wanted. The plot lost a lot of speed and I this book felt completely dedicated to Lisa working on her power, that’s it.

A mixed bag of thoughts for this one.

Overall audience notes: