contemporary fiction – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 448 pages
Author: Jojo Moyes
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Release Date: February 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The Giver of Stars.

Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope–she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag–she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.

Full of Jojo Moyes’ signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.

Thank you to PRHAudio for the gifted audiobook.

THOUGHTFUL.

Audiobook review: Daisy Ridley narrates this y’all. Enough said. I thought it was fantastically well done.

I’m not one to go out of my to pick up a contemporary fiction, BUT for Moyes? Yes, yes I will give that a go. And I really liked this one y’all. It’s full of complicated, and unlikeable characters. Many I wanted to shake, and give a hug too all over the course of reading. I like layered and dynamic personalities that showcase the full scope of what it means to be human and to be trying desperately to get by when life throws everything at you.

I liked the inter-mixing of mental health too. The effects it can have on so many levels of your life and those around you. It’s tough, it’s gritty and good and bad choices are made. I did NOT love every decision and action, but I think that was the point. It became a thoughtful examination of many themes.

The supporting cast held this book together too. I adored them all. Both Sam and Nisha had some rocky roads and I was grateful that ultimately they found their own feet to stand on for themselves and take the next step forward. Nisha’s closing scene actually made me tear up a little and hit me right in the heart. This was a solidly good book. Moyes did it again.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Fiction
Language: some strong
Romance: closed door
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce, cheating, break-ins, emotional manipulation, a friend with cancer, bad work environment

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ARC Book Review: Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander

April 22, 2023February 23, 2023 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 304 pages
Author: Neely Tubati Alexander
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: May 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance romantic encounter during a wild night at a Mardi Gras bachelorette party sends strait-laced Serena Khan’s carefully constructed life into chaos.

A wretched maid of honor. A hangover from hell. Raucous Mardi Gras crowds. There isn’t much Serena Khan is enjoying about this four-day New Orleans destination bachelorette party for her semi-estranged cousin, the bride-to-be—until sparks fly with a handsome stranger, who, like her, is also from Seattle. After their conversation is cut short, Serena is overwhelmed by the desire to find the charming man with the brooding eyebrows, but her list of clues is pretty short:

His name is Julian.
He lives on Chamber Hill.
He works at a tech company.
He loves Lil Wayne and Nirvana.

The need to find him is, for Serena, both irresistible and totally irrational. In a few short weeks, her college alumni magazine is featuring her in a “Life at Thirty” feature, cementing her as a success story. She will have officially achieved the safe, stable life her late mother insisted upon. Julian is not part of the plan.

As she combs Seattle for her New Orleans flame, stripping away the perfectly curated life that would have made her mother proud, Serena must decide if the pursuit of real passion is worth it—and fast, before she destroys the life she always thought she wanted.

Thank you SparkPoint Studio for the ARC.

GREAT DEBUT.

I really did enjoy this read. I will say first off, it is NOT a romance. There’s a romantic super sub plot, but overall this is much more fiction. I loved watching Serena figure life out. I could easily relate and connect with her on finding what makes you passionate. What makes you want to get out of bed each day and who you want to spend those days with. It’s complex handling all of that and grief and I thought this was a beautiful debut within those themes.

I had two little things that niggled at me. One being, the only love scene in here was a dream?? I didn’t love that and it felt really misplaced. And secondly, I do wish there was a bit more romance!! It started off strong and I wish Julian was a bit more woven into the entire story.

Honestly though, great read. I finished it in a day and would easily recommend it to others. I loved the setting and the characters. They all helped Serena reach a place in life where she felt more at peace. And I love that.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Fiction
Language: some strong
Romance: one open door
Trigger/Content Warnings: alcohol consumption, loss of a mother, grief depiction

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Book Review

Book Review: Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis

March 18, 2023January 15, 2023 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Lia Louis
Publisher: Atria
Release Date: July 14th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

At sixteen, Emmie Blue stood in the fields of her school and released a red balloon into the sky. Attached was her name, her email address… and a secret she desperately wanted to be free of. Weeks later, on a beach in France, Lucas Moreau discovered the balloon and immediately emailed the attached address, sparking an intense friendship between the two teens.

Now, fourteen years later, Emmie is hiding the fact that she’s desperately in love with Lucas. She has pinned all her hopes on him and waits patiently for him to finally admit that she’s the one for him. So dedicated to her love for Lucas, Emmie has all but neglected her life outside of this relationship—she’s given up the search for her absentee father, no longer tries to build bridges with her distant mother, and lives as a lodger to an old lady she barely knows after being laid off. And when Lucas tells Emmie he has a big question to ask her, she’s convinced this is the moment he’ll reveal his feelings for her. But nothing in life ever quite goes as planned, does it?

Filled with heart and humor, Dear Emmie Blue “beautifully captures the heartache and frustrations of carrying our teenaged selves with us wherever we go” (Anstey Harris, author of Goodbye Paris) that is perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Evvie Drake Starts Over.

MY HEART.

Well this book turned me into an absolute puddle and is now my favorite Lia Louis book to date.

I absolutely loved Emmie’s story and the progress she made in loving who she is and where she is and recognizing the love around her. Having to walk through a lot of personal fires to get to where she is at the end had me cheering her on the whole way.

And that romance??? OMG. I was a misty eyed woman reading those last few scenes. Even if you realize what’s happening it’ll still squeeze your heart in the most beautifully painful ways. I love how those things worked out and that Emmie got to know the WHOLE truth of things. It only made the ending that much sweeter.

A fantastic audiobook that I couldn’t put down. A story that will melt your soul and I cannot recommend this one enough. I’m not big on backlist reading, and I am grateful I dove back for this one!!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: slut shaming, victim shaming, sexual assault of a minor, cheating

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Book Review

Book Review: The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis

January 9, 2023December 8, 2022 GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction + Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Lia Louis
Publisher: Atria
Release Date: December 6th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A heartwarming novel about hope after loss as a young widow receives mysterious messages of love from the “must-buy author” (Jodi Picoult) of Eight Perfect Hours.

Sparkly and charming Natalie Fincher has it all—a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opportunity to tour with the musical she’s spent years writing. But when her husband suddenly dies, all her hopes and dreams instantly disappear.

Two and a half years later, Natalie is still lost. She works, sleeps (well, as much as the sexually frustrated village foxes will allow), and sees friends just often enough to allay their worries, but her life is empty. And she can only bring herself to play music at a London train station’s public piano where she can be anonymous. She’s lost motivation, faith in love, in happiness…in everything.

But when someone begins to mysteriously leave the sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano, Natalie begins to feel a sense of hope and excitement for the first time. As she investigates just who could be doing this, Natalie finds herself on an unexpected journey toward newfound love for herself, for life, and maybe, for a special someone.

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

MY HEART.

I knew going in this book was going to hurt. Widow plots are some of the hardest for me to read about. I truly enjoyed this one though and all the truth and love and pain it held. Another beautiful book by Lia Louis!

I loved the overall theme of how grief creates its own path. And that it’s OKAY to have a different path than someone else’s. The side characters provided a lot of different angles to how people approach those experiencing grief too. It became multi-faceted and complex and had all of my heart strings pulled.

The romance was so dang sweet. I loved the slow steps into it and how a friendship grew first. There’s a tiny dash of a love triangle (it’s good, I promise!) and I loved how it worked out in the end.

One particular chapter at the end had me tearing up and wanting to hug Natalie. A fantastic and poignant read that I’d easily recommend!

Overall audience notes:

Women’s Fiction / Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a spouse (theme), loss of loved ones, grief, depression