Tag: librofm

Book Review: Wreck My Plans by Jillian Meadows

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Holiday Romance
Length: 301 pages
Author: Jillian Meadows
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: October 8th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A sweet and spicy holiday romance between a spirited artist who returns to her small town for Christmas, and her older brother’s best friend, a serious architect who pushes all her buttons—but whom she can’t seem to stay away from. 

Lena’s plans are simple. Surprise her family for Christmas, don’t tell them she lost her job, and most importantly, spend the week relaxing with the people she cares about.

But when she arrives in Juniper, she discovers she’s not the only unexpected guest this year. Her older brother’s best friend, Gavin, is back after disappearing three years ago without a word. He has the kind of charm Lena has always been drawn to, but she knows he’s also the kind of temptation she needs to stay far away from.

Gavin has built his architecture career out of planning strategies for dealing with the unexpected—but he didn’t have a strategy for the possibility of seeing Lena again. Though he’s been dreaming of her since the day he left, he can’t risk giving in to his feelings when they could upend the only family and home he has ever known.

New try to be friends again. Just friends.

But as the pieces fall into place about why Gavin left, staying friends is the last thing on his mind…and on Lena’s. All the plans they’ve made might end up completely wrecked. And for once, maybe they want it that way.

Thank you LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

EHHHHH.

I feel very mixed about this book. There’s plenty of holiday cheer and it definitely fits that vibe. I loved the rambunctious family dynamics and how much I wanted to be apart of Lena’s family too.

Gavin brought some swoon. I love a man obsessed and from the first chapter you could tell he was gone. And while I loved that, I do also think that angst was trying too hard. I wanted a bit more burn in those aspects and not feeling like I was playing catch-up.

And, as a personal preference, four chapters in a row (+ more later in the book) just really isn’t my jam. Add that in to the lets get it out of our system plot and I struggled with the physical intimacy throughout. Lastly adding in a third act that made me want to shake Lena a bit and it brought this book down for me.

So not all bad, but not all good either. I’m not upset I picked it up, but now I’m hesitant to read more from this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Christmas romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: mentions and recounts of being in the foster system, a car wreck (no one is injured)

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Book Review: Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 448 pages
Author: Meredith Adamo
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Release Date: April 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A girl risks everything to find her former best friend in this powerful debut mystery about trauma, girlhood, and what we deserve.

When Jo-Lynn Kirby’s former best friend—pretty, nice Maddie Price—comes to her claiming to be in trouble, Jo assumes it’s some kind of joke. After all, Jo has been an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked—and since everyone decided she deserved it. There’s no way Maddie would actually come to her for help.

But then Maddie is gone.

Everyone is quick to write off Maddie as a runaway, but Jo can’t shake the feeling there’s more to the story. To find out the truth, Jo needs to get back in with the people who left her behind—and the only way back in is through Hudson Harper-Moore. An old fling of Jo’s with his own reasons for wanting to find Maddie, Hudson hatches a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into their clique. But being back on the inside means Jo must confront everything she’d rather forget: the boys who betrayed her, the whispers that she had it coming, and the secrets that tore her and Maddie apart. As Jo digs deeper into Maddie’s disappearance, she’s left to wonder who she’s really searching for: Maddie, or the girl she used to be.

Not Like Other Girls is a stunning debut that takes a hard look at how we treat young women and their trauma, through the lens of a missing girl and a girl trying to find herself again.

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

WHAT A RIDE.

I honestly had no idea what I was getting when I picked this up. I didn’t read the synopsis and had seen a few friends love it so hey, why not? And it shocked me in so many ways. I feel a bit iffy on some of the writing/small plot moments but the big themes and story were incredibly hard hitting and made for an intense read.

This made me feel a range of emotions from the momma bear, I just want to hug this girl, to anger and devastation at how these situations occur and those who look the other way. Jo was hurting and struggling and I loved her story so much.

The pace was a little slow for me but I added that extra half star because I kept getting blindsided by the reveals towards the end. They were handled well and I was invested in needing to know how everything was going to come together.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA/NA Mystery with some romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: vague open door/fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: rap3 (alluded to multiple times), assault, kidnapping

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Book Review: The Blonde Who Came in Form the Cold (Blonde Identity #2) by Ally Carter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Avon Books
Release Date: August 5th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Ten years ago, they joined the CIA.

Six years ago, he left the game.

Five years ago, they fell in love.

One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.

And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.

They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.

The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.)

Thank you to Avon Books for the ARC and LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

OH I WAS OBSESSED.

OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Frankly that’s all you need. ALL THE DANG STARS GO PICK IT UP.

I am such a puddle for a man SO DOWN BAD. The MMC (who gets his own narration!!!!) was incredible. I love him. I love him. I love him. I could give you a list of scenes that had me swooning non-stop and obsessing over his every move. And I adored the FMC too. The banter was off the charts and you could feel their chemistry from the first moment. These flashbacks were AMAZING. I’m not a flashback chapter fan and appreciated that these only added and shaped the story.

It’s fast paced, full of action, heat, romance and allllll the things. I loved the audiobook. I loved the book. I LOVED IT ALL.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Positively, Penelope (Skymar #2) by Pepper Basham

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 410 pages
Author: Pepper Basham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: August 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Told mostly through letters, texts, and email, this contemporary romance will charm its way into hearts as Penelope rescues a theater and discovers her true self in the process.

Penelope Edgewood is practically positive in every way, so when, fresh out of college, she is awarded a paid internship to help save a century-old theater on the island of Skymar, she jumps at the chance. After all, a crumbling theater needs the special touch of someone who reveres all things vintage and adores the stage.

Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems at Darling House Theatre. Finances are in shambles, the local theater group is disenchanted, and the two brothers, Matt and Alec Gray, can’t seem to see eye-to-eye about how to run their theatrical business. So, of course, it’s the perfect place for Penelope to shine her own personal brand of sunshine.

With a little help from GK, the person emailing her encouragement along the way, she puts all her heart into helping the Grays save Darling House. But between Matt’s ever-present skepticism, Alec’s tendency to treat Penelope a little too much like the “princess” she thinks she wants to be (until someone actually started treating her that way), a grandfather who is stuck in his grief, and a mysterious person stealing Penelope’s marketing ideas, she’s not sure her optimism is enough to make a happily-ever-after of her own story, let alone The Darling House’s.

Between an adorable little girl, a matchmaker, a sea monster or two, and a copious amount of musical references, can Penelope draw enough confidence from her faith, her family, and her adoration of all things Julie Andrews, to find the thief and save the theater . . . without getting her heart broken in the process?

Thank you to Bibliolifestyle and Thomas Nelson for the gifted copy and LibroFM for the audiobook.

TOO MANY E-MAILS.

Honestly if the 200 pages of inane emails and text messages would have been taken out, I think I would have liked this story a lot more. Good HEAVNES it was TOO MUCH. And I stand by my statement that it didn’t genuinely further the plot or sub-story lines.

Ignoring that aspect, the rest of the book was sweet. I am not the type of personality to connect with Penelope but I honor and love her ability to look on the bright side and be a bit of sunshine to others in her life. She is hopeful and genuine and I loved how hard she worked at her commitments. The romance between her and Matt had some good tender moments. Different scenes felt a bit cliche, but I think that was the vibe of this book in general.

I do not recommend the audiobook. The intense litany of voices and narrators was more jarring than I expected. I loved some of the accents and others were hard to understand making reading at one speed more complicated.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: infidelity (briefly mentioned), loss of loved ones to cancer

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