Tag: Book Review

ARC Book Review: A Cross-Country Wedding (Road Trip Romance #2) by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 323 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Sweethaven Press
Release Date: November 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A fun-loving free spirit.
Her buttoned-up best friend.
And a cross-country wedding that could drive their platonic relationship toward something else entirely.

Simon Collier is my friend. Heck, he’s been my friend for most of my adult life—and we couldn’t be more different. I love late-night karaoke. He’s a homebody with a piano I’ve never heard him play. I relish being the center of attention while Simon prefers to fade into the background. My dresser is a disaster. He alphabetizes his fridge. I suppose we’re a little like sunshine and rain. It’s why our friendship works. Even though we’re total opposites, we get along like peas and carrots. He’s constantly saving me after failed romances, and I push him to live a little. . .even if that means dragging him out of his comfort zone.

If I can make him laugh, it’s a win. He’s my safe person. Secure, reliable, fun to poke fun at. Simon Collier is my friend. But now, all that might change.

After another predictable break-up, I find myself in need of a plus-one for my best friend Lauren’s cross-country wedding. A wedding that reenacts the road trip where she and her fiance, Will, first fell in love. And despite his fussiness, Simon is the safest person to bring along because I’m not in the market for any more messy feelings.

Our friendship has been intact for over ten years, surely we can handle a week crammed in a car, sharing meals and playlists and nighttime secrets and single beds.

Right?

A Cross-Country Wedding is a sizzling but sweet, friends-to-more road trip romance. It is the second in the Road Trip Romance series & while it reads as a stand-alone, it may be best enjoyed after reading A Cross-Country Wedding.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

PERFECT FOR SUMMER.

This was a fun take on the road trip trope and I appreciate that I never felt like it was dragging over the miles and miles traveled. There were a lot of humorous stops and kitschy things to see and the pages really did fly by.

I struggled a bit with the FMC, Maddie. I will say that I did see growth from her as the book went on. But those initial chapters + the flashbacks had me seeing a very uneven relationship dynamic that I didn’t love. I’m grateful she acknowledged those things in the end and was able to, at last, communicate and help Simon.

Simon was an absolute gem. I adored his personality, nature and everything in between. He was sweet, supportive and kind. The one bed was used immaculately here and that first kiss? YES SIR.

An enjoyable read that has such a great summertime vibe to it. I loved seeing Lauren and Will too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: strained parent relationships

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Book Review: Promised by Leah Garriott

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Leah Garriott
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: February 18th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Margaret Brinton keeps her promises, and the one she is most determined to keep is the promise to protect her heart.

Warwickshire, England, 1812

Fooled by love once before, Margaret vows never to be played the fool again. To keep her vow, she attends a notorious matchmaking party intent on securing the perfect marital match: a union of convenience to someone who could never affect her heart. She discovers a man who exceeds all her hopes in the handsome and obliging rake Mr. Northam.

There’s only one problem. His meddling cousin, Lord Williams, won’t leave Margaret alone. Condescending and high-handed, Lord Williams lectures and insults her. When she refuses to give heed to his counsel, he single-handedly ruins Margaret’s chances for making a good match—to his cousin or anyone else. With no reason to remain at the party, Margaret returns home to discover her father has promised her hand in marriage—to Lord Williams.

Under no condition will Margaret consent to marrying such an odious man. Yet as Lord Williams inserts himself into her everyday life, interrupting her family games and following her on morning walks, winning the good opinion of her siblings and proving himself intelligent and even kind, Margaret is forced to realize that Lord Williams is exactly the type of man she’d hoped to marry before she’d learned how much love hurt. When paths diverge and her time with Lord Williams ends, Margaret is faced with her ultimate choice: keep the promises that protect her or break free of them for one more chance at love. Either way, she fears her heart will lose.

GREAT.

I love just coming across an enjoyable read. Maybe not shout out at the rooftops worthy, but one I would easily recommend should you need a regency romance in your life (answer: you do).

This romance was super swoony and sweet. I liked how Margaret and Gregory came together. There was heated banter, some absolutely perfect regency scenes and a ball. Who doesn’t love a ball?! I thought this had a great build up and definitely had some enemies to lovers vibes.

Margaret took some time to catch on to the prospect of falling in love, but Gregory was there to woo her. I liked that the surrounding plot fit the romantic story well and the dash of a love triangle didn’t bug me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Regrets Only by Kieran Scott

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 336 pages
Author: Kieran Scott
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: January 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a fast-paced new novel in the vein of Big Little Lies, a single mom goes undercover to investigate a host of disturbing secrets held by the leaders of a local suburban parent-school association, including embezzlement, bribery, adultery, and murder—by the bestselling author of Wish You Were Gone.

Paige Lancaster, single mom and prodigal daughter, has returned to the East Coast from her prestigious, well-paid job in Los Angeles, writing for the smartest detective series on television. Something terrible happened to her back in Hollywood. Okay, two terrible things, one featuring a misplaced tire iron—and now she’s broke, homeless, and living with her widowed mother and eight-year-old daughter, Izzy, in her Connecticut hometown.

Paige needs to buckle down and find a new writing gig but first, she meets the movers and shakers of Izzy’s school’s Parent Booster Association, run by the intimidatingly gorgeous Ainsley Anderson, who just happens to be married to Paige’s old high school flame, John.

Then she shows up at the annual Parents and Pinot fundraiser, held at Ainsley and John’s dazzling mansion in the toniest part of town, where she’s caught in a compromising position with John, accidentally destroys the guest bathroom, overhears an incriminating conversation, and discovers that her purse has gone missing. And later that night, Ainsley turns up dead at the bottom of her own driveway.

Did she fall? Or was she pushed?

Paige may have only written about detectives, but she is convinced she can handle a little undercover sleuthing. After all, it’ll give her an excuse to spend more time with John. Still, she can’t help but wonder: could he be capable of murder? Or could one of the PBA members have planned a dastardly crime to reach the top? But the most important question of all: will Paige ever get her life back on track?

Thank you to Book Club Favorites and Simon & Schuster for the gifted copy.

BRING THE DRAMA.

You can sometimes easily know what you’re getting into from a book by the summary. In this case, I knew allllll the momma drama was coming my way and by leaning right into it, I enjoyed this one! It was a fantastic audiobook with multiple narrators that brought out another dimension to the story.

I liked the murder mystery the most. I honestly didn’t know who committed what and kept pointing my finger at the wrong person. It’s super fast paced and a compulsive kind of read that has a bit of an edge too.

Character wise, I didn’t love or hate anyone. I feel like they all played their roles well and each brought a little bit of something to the story. I like seeing things from multiple angles and Regrets Only brought that dynamic for me.

Not my usual genre, but definitely a nice switch up.

Overall audience notes:

  • Mystery/Thriller
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: murder, gun violence, physical altercations

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Book Review: Unhappening Ever After (Wayfair Witches #16) by A.A. Albright

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Length: 177 pages
Author: A.A. Albright
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a new world, Wanda Wayfair is solving an old mystery …

When a rat called Dudley O’Mara tells Wanda that someone has murdered his witch, Wanda is hit with a strong sense of déjà vu. Déjà vu isn’t unusual for Wanda – she’s experienced it throughout her life, and finally, she is about to discover the reason.

Soon after Dudley’s visit, a second murder occurs, and it is just as eerily familiar as the first – a janitor is killed, and a dangerous magical object is missing from the scene. History seems to be repeating itself, in a most disturbing way. Can Wanda remember the lessons of her past in time to solve the mysteries of her present? And what exactly did she and the Queen do in order to bring Max home?

A GOOD CONCLUSION.

This was a super short read so I won’t have a long winded review either. I enjoyed this conclusion! It wasn’t everything I was hoping for in some aspects though. I thought there would be a bit more exploration of the final relationship (but not naming names because spoilers). I did see that there’s a spinoff series that will focus on that a little bit so I might try to pick those up.

I’ve really enjoyed loving on these characters and allowing these stories to be nice breaks in between my bigger and denser reads. A fun paranormal series that have all my favorite aspects of cozy mysteries.

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Cozy Mystery
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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