Tag: netgalley

ARC Book Review: Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 11th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sadie Montogmery has had good breaks and bad breaks in her life, but as a struggling artist, all she needs is one lucky break. Things seem to be going her way when she lands one of the coveted finalist spots in a portrait competition. It happens to coincide with a surgery she needs to have. Minor, they say. Less than a week in the hospital they say. Nothing about you will change, they say. Upon recovery, it begins to dawn on Sadie that she can see everything around her, but she can no longer see faces.

Temporary, they say. Lots of people deal with this, they say. As she struggles to cope―and hang onto her artistic dreams―she finds solace in her fourteen-year-old dog, Peanut. Thankfully, she can still see animal faces. When Peanut gets sick, she rushes him to the emergency vet nearby. That’s when she meets veterinarian Dr. Addison. And she’s pleasantly surprised when he asks her on a date. But she doesn’t want anyone to know about her face blindness. Least of all Joe, her obnoxious neighbor who always wears a bowling jacket and seems to know everyone in the building. He’s always there at the most embarrassing but convenient times, and soon, they develop a sort of friendship. But could it be something more?

As Sadie tries to save her career, confront her haunting past, and handle falling in love with two different guys she realizes that happiness can be found in the places―and people― you least expect.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

INCREDIBLE.

Audiobook notes: Abolutely LOVED the audiobook. This brought Sadie to life and I’m in love with the entire production.

NEW FAVORITE KATHERINE CENTER BOOK. I am a weepy mess after finishing this. Couldn’t put it down, binge read, cry at the end, smile like a fool and love every single second kind of read.

I LOVED Sadie. She was my favorite kind of FMC. Personable and relatable. Flaws and strengths. All mashed together into this woman I adored. She made this book sing. Alongside her was the ROOOOMANCE. I don’t want to say too much because going into this without knowing too much is best. I just LOVED IT SO MUCH. It was swoony and real and full of everything I love about Center’s writing. Her ability to craft a story that I want to hug makes her one of my favorite all time authors.

Such a fated, sweet romance. Many powerful things Sadie learned. Another amazing read I will not get over!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: make-out
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: sibling abuse (emotional, verbal, psychological) recounted, cheating recounted, prosopagnosia, brain surgery and recovery, grief and loss, death of a parent recounted

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ARC Book Review: Appointment in Bath (Somerset Stories #4) by Mimi Matthews

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 288 pages
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: June 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance meeting between the sheltered daughter and the forward-thinking son of rival Victorian families sparks a forbidden romance in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s fourth book in her acclaimed Somerset Stories series.

Shy and stammering Meg Burton-Smythe has spent the whole of her life living on the fringes of local society. She’s more comfortable with her daydreams than she is with people. But when a dashing, golden-haired hero rides to her rescue one morning, she dares to hope that her dreams might finally come true. There’s only one problem: her handsome rescuer is the son of her father’s sworn enemy.

Ivo Beresford doesn’t believe in clinging to the past. Freshly returned from a lengthy grand tour, he’s looking to the future, eager to spearhead the building of a new railway extension in Somersetshire. But an unexpected encounter with Meg Burton-Smythe, the isolated only daughter of his parents’ oldest foe, sets the past and the future colliding.

Resolved to put ancient grudges to rest—at least where innocent young ladies are concerned—Ivo encourages lonely Meg to embark on a secret acquaintance. After all, what harm can a friendship do? It isn’t as though there’s any danger of the two of them falling in love…

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

I LOVE MEG.

She was the best part of this whole book. I LOVED her journey. She learned who she was, stood up for herself to those around her and just did the dang thing. I loved her character and she’s a new favorite.

And I’m obsessed with this whole series. I love that we get this second generation of stories now because I’m even more in love with the whole family. I adored Ivo as well. He went on a good journey too and I appreciated his sunshine energy. The balance of friendship to romance was well paced and you could feel the tension between these two, even though the romance is forbidden (you know you want to read it now).

I’m such a Mimi Matthews fan. Her books add this perfect level of edge to the historical genre without adding spice. There’s romantic ball scenes, horse rides through the countryside and secret meetings. I LOVED IT ALL.

Overall audience notes:

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

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ARC Book Review: Luck and Last Resorts (Love, Lists and Fancy Ships #2) by Sarah Grunder Ruiz

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 9th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

They have a second chance at love, but there are some rough seas ahead in the new contemporary romance from the acclaimed author of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships.

Commitment-phobe Nina Lejeune lives by two rules:
1. Always have fun.
2. Don’t rely on anyone but yourself.
The first rule is easy; the second, she’s only broken once.

Ten years after fleeing home, Nina is the chief stewardess on the super yacht Serendipity, single by choice, and perfectly content with how life has turned out.

But Nina’s ex-coworker and old flame, Irish chef Ollie Dunne, isn’t so happy with the status quo. One year after leaving yachting, he’s returned as the Serendipity’s chef with an ultimatum: if Nina continues to deny she’s in love with him by the end of this charter season, he’ll go back to Ireland for good.

Nina and Ollie’s shared secret from their past threatens to shipwreck not only their relationship, but the entire boat. But as their connection grows amidst chaotic guests and crew drama, could there be smooth sailing in their future?

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an eARC.

THIS STORY Y’ALL.

I was told the angst would be high. THEY DID NOT LIE. Off the charts angst, which is my absolute favorite. FAAAAAAVORITE.

Nina and Ollie are such gems. I loved the flashback chapters that were perfectly placed to give credence to the flair of the second chance trope. And I must mention, HE FALLS FIRST. Ohhhhh how I live for that sub-trope. I was smitten with Ollie up and down, around and around, FOREVER. I LOVE HIM. He is swoony, and kind, the best banter and when he stands up for what he deserves? YES. YES. YES.

My girl Nina, I admit, made me want to shake her a few times. I understood a lot of the feelings and internal struggles. I guess, for me, it was dragged on just a *touch* too long? But that was my only minor complaint. Otherwise, Nina was on this incredible journey that forced her to confront many things that needed to be knocked down. I loved these two together.

All of the sub plots and side characters were everything my Below Deck loving soul could not get enough of. The perfect dose of drama, THE CAPTAIN, glimpses of Jo and Alex? Everything flowed and fit in so well. I didn’t feel like there was wasted space, just glorious writing and a story that I couldn’t put down.

READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: one vague and brief open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: identity theft/fraud of a minor, remembrances of domestic abuse, smoking

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ARC Book Review: Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult contemporary romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: May 5th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”—a.k.a. her childhood best friend.

Sometimes to find the good, you have to embrace the bad.

Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.

What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.

Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is.

Thank you to the publisher, Razorbill and Netgalley for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own!

I’D CHASE LUCKY TOO.

This was a more mature YA book. That’s what I kept thinking every time I was reading this. The main character was a high school senior and I kept picturing her as a college girl home for the summer. Take that for what you will, I still enjoyed the book.

There’s a lot of depth to this novel. It isn’t a super fluffy YA rom-com. The further I read, the more of the inner story unfurled in front of me. And I really like what I got from it. That communication is critically important to maintaining the bonds we value.

And usually, I hate when communication is clearly an issue and a brief conversation would solve all the problems. Bennett does a great job of not making me feel this way. While yes, I got frustrated with them (mostly Josie’s mother), I also understood the pain and heartache that each of the Saint-Martin women were struggling with. Another highlight, the fact that this was also heavily about a group of women in a family learning how to be together and not let differences tear them down. I liked the way reveals and emotions came out towards the end as the real picture of everyone’s past came to light. Josie took in a lot of information in a small amount of time. Did she make some mistakes? YES. Did she also learn from them? YES. And that’s what really sold this book for me.

The trope of choice for Chasing Lucky was childhood friends. Lucky and Josie knew each other back when she still lived in town, but after moving away, lost touch. Enter Josie coming back, enter cute Lucky 2.0. I, for once, dare say, I liked the way this trope was written. There was good banter, a little bit of angst as they figured each other out again and I felt the connection between them. I WILL ALSO SAY, I have rolled my eyes at love scenes in Bennett’s previous books, this was not the case this time. Oh it was so much better, and so much more realistic. I definitely adored this story a lot more because of it.

I constantly found myself wanting to pick this book up to read it. It was a solid YA book and I love the journey this story took me on. I appreciate the sentiments that were expressed and thought the conclusion was everything it should be.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses; one little detailed fade to black scene
  • Trigger warnings: someone being arrested for destruction of property; a secondary character posting and showing off a nude photo of Josie’s mother and using it for revenge; car wreck (no one is critically injured)

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