More book reviews coming at you! Read some good ones in here, and one really terrible one! My site was down for a little while, and I got behind…so my apologies.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

I absolutely loved  Yasmen and Josiah’s story. It was perfect, and messy, and heartbreaking. I really loved that we get an older couple (and by older I mean like my age lol) who had some complicated things happen that lead to a divorce and we get to see them trying to navigate that while still having unresolved feelings. Owning a restaurant together and co-parenting added some complex layers. It was so beautifully written and there was so much character growth throughout the book for more than just our main characters. I loved all of Yasmen and Josiah’s friends, and their children as well. Kennedy Ryan writes grief in such a beautiful, haunting way. She did such a great job covering mental health and how we all deal with feelings differently. I don’t always love a second change romance, but this one was done right.

Bottom Line: Read it!

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book is straight forward and offers practical advice on how to start making habits to achieve your goals. I already knew some about habit stacking and other advice he offers in the book, but it was done in a way that was motivating and got me thinking about rearranging a few things I do to be more consistent. He talks about taking small steps and being 1% better each day, which is a great reminder that good habits take time to form and the key is to stay consistent and keep showing up for yourself.

Bottom Line: Read it if you are looking for some motivation.

Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Painter

I love a forced proximity and off limits plotline, and this delivers both! Throw in a wrong number? Yes!! This was such a fun book. I really loved Olivia’s positive outlook on life, even when hers is quite the mess at times. I laughed several times throughout this one and it just flowed well for me.

Bottom Line: Read it!

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter

I had fun reading Mr Wrong Number, so I immediately hopped on another Lynn Painter book. This one has a fake dating trope wrapped in it, which I always find fun! Jack and Hallie hook up at Jack’s brother’s wedding, but become fast friends after. They then make a bet with each other to find someone through a dating app. They share stories from their dates with each other and have a lot of fun together. The banter is so good. Then they fake date each other for a weekend, and sparks fly! Another fun read from Lynn Painter and can’t wait to read more.

Bottom Line: Read it.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Listen, I love a good Rebecca Serle book. I do. But this ain’t it. I made the mistake of listening to the audio copy of this book. Rebecca herself narrates, and that is the first thing wrong for me. She writes so beautifully, but her narration is terrible! She had a such an emotionless, monotone voice throughout the whole book. She honestly sounded bored with herself. She should have had someone else read this for her.

The plot was a good idea, getting to have the “dinner with anyone dead or alive,” but it just didn’t deliver like I wanted it to. Past that, I hated most of the characters of the book. Especially the main character, Sabrina. I didn’t get her obsession with Tobias at all. You never really feel a real connection with them, and you can see all the mistakes and red flags she makes with him coming a mile away. Her best friend Jessica is the only one with a decent head on her shoulders, but even their relationship is rocky. I am not sure why Audrey is at the dinner at all? It felt like a random part of the book.

And here comes a major spoiler alert, so if you haven’t read it and still want to after everything I said, then stop reading here.

Did you stop if you want to read this? Ok here comes the spoiler…..what in the world is the actual point of this book if Tobias is actually dead too?!?!?! Like what???? I was so pissed when I found that out, I literally almost quit reading. But like a train wreck, I had to look on to see where it was all going. It really made this book even more dumb and pointless. I am so glad this wasn’t my first book by this author, because I genuinely like her others. But this is not it and I cannot recommend you read it.

Bottom Line: Pass

The Rom Commers by Katherine Center

I LOVE Katherine Center, she has become a must read for me over the years. This book is everything I wanted it to be! We have the forced proximity trope, which I love. You definitely feel the tension between Emma and Charlie. Emma was so determined to succeed in what was basically a suicide mission from her company. They expect her to fail. She remained strong and positive throughout. I loved the side story with Emma’s little sister and her father. Overall, I laughed and this book was so heartwarming. I love the way Katherine Center writes. Could not put this one down!

Bottom Line: Read

**I received a copy of The Rom Commers from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Crave Me by Cecy Robinson

I didn’t realize this was a series when I picked it up, and I hate I started with book 3 because I loved the O’Brien family and I have to go back and read the others now! With that said, you could totally just read this one, you don’t need their backstory to enjoy it. And enjoy it I did!!! Oh Wren and Evan. Wren is such a strong leading lady. Having lots of brothers, she has to be! What happened in her past is so heart breaking and you can tell how it changed her. And Evan has all kinds of layers. I loved how he takes care of his employees and Wren. He has a past as well.

When things heat up as someone from Wren’s past tries to threaten everything, it gets really interesting. The book is paced so well and makes for a believable relationship. I definitely cannot wait to read more from this series.

Bottom Line: Read

R.S. Grey has a new book out today, and I wanted to do a special post just for it’s release! Fighting Words. Go download it right now, I’ll wait……Ok. got it??

This one was so good! The tropes! Some of my favorites all rolled into one book, yes please!!!

-Forced Proximity

-Enemies to Lovers

-Grumpy/Sunshine

-Workplace Romance

Summer is an editor who is assigned a mission that everyone thinks she will fail. Get Nathaniel to write the third book in his trilogy. She heads to the cutest little town in England, that was giving me major The Holiday vibes. Such a cozy setting with the snow, the cute little town, and the wonderful townspeople that we get to meet along the way.

The problem? Nate has writers block and is a major grump. The one downfall of the small town, there is nowhere for Summer to stay, but at Nate’s house! Hello, awkward! The perfect set up for banter to ensue! And we all know RS Grey is the queen of banter!

I really loved the way that Summer and Nate’s relationship was mirrored in the love triangle that was going on in Nate’s series, such a fun detail to follow. We really get to know about both their backgrounds and get to know them as characters. Their arguments seem so realistic and well fleshed out.

Overall, highly recommend this book! It was a such a fun read, and I couldn’t put it down! Like all of RS Grey’s books, I devoured in less than 24 hours.

**I received an ARC copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All opinion are my own.**

Book reviews coming in hot! I read a few nonfiction books this month, two books with a magical element to it, started out the month strong! I was definitely ready for a change after binging Christmas books for about two months straight!

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Sometimes I have a hard time rating and reviewing memoirs. Generally, the writing and depth is often lacking in them. But these are real people telling their life stories, so it just hits different in a way. The beginning of this one was a little all over the place, and it sort of read more like a young girls diary in a way? I already knew a lot of the things that Britney shared, and it makes me so sad for her to hear her recalling of how the press and people in her life treated her. It is truly appalling and I feel for her. It is Britney’s life and her stories, so who am I to say that it could have gone deeper, shared more etc. She gets to chose how much she wants to share and writes her own narrative now. I enjoyed listening to this on audio, and if you were ever a fan….I suggest picking it up.

Bottom Line: Read it!

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

One of my favorite authors suggested reading this, so I immediately got it from the library! This is a “one of them is famous’ troup, which is always fun. Chani meets Gabe for an interview after spending years crushing on him. Lucky her! They spend 72 hours together and then don’t see each other for 10 years. Well, except that one time. The book bounces back and forth in time, and there are blog posts and articles scattered in between. It made for an interesting read. I wish we got to know more about Gabe and why he was so angsty. I feel like while we saw character growth, there wasn’t a lot of depth? Perhaps since they really only spent about 6 days together for the entire book. Chani’s ex was a true POS and I did like that storyline. I also LOVED Ollie! I think he was my favorite character. Overall, I quite enjoyed this one, but ended up giving it only three stars. The last 15% of the book is where so much happens and its all rushed. And the great article that the whole book was written around, wasn’t all that great in my opinion.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed listening to this on audio, it was a quick and easy read.

Me by Elton John

Elton John has lead such a fascinating life. He lays it all out in this book, the good and the bad…and it was so engaging the entire read through. I did this on audio, as I like to do with nonfiction and especially celebrity books. I loved listening to his stories about other artists that he got to work with and/or be friends with throughout his life. He talks about his addictions and disorders, his struggle to get clean, the love of his life. What a redemption story. This is one of the best celebrity books I have read.

Bottom Line: Read it!

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

I always find the premise of Serle’s novels so interesting. Her writing style always captures me right in. This is another of those books where there is an unrealistic element to it, but it works for me. What a concept…know exactly how long every relationship you have will last. There were some twists and secrets in this one that I didn’t see coming and made yell WHAT??? My one hang up with the book is I am not entirely sure that Daphne really grows throughout the book. I can’t really say anything without giving things away, but if you have read this, I would love to talk about it! Still, Serle’s novels have become must reads for me.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received an ARC copy of Expiration Dates from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

There is something about Ashley Poston’s writing that really sucks me in. Usually I am not a fan of books that have a magical element to them that isn’t real life…and yet she makes it work for me every time! Clementine’s raw emotions are felt throughout this book, and it goes so much deeper than your usual romcom. I really liked all the side characters and the friction between Clementine and Iwan. This book is beautifully written and you feel everything. Loved!!!!

Bottom Line: Read it!

Coming in with some more book reviews! I was fully into all the Christmas books! But I do have some that aren’t if that isn’t your thing. I have a few more ARC copies of Christmas books that I didn’t get to last month. I am trying to decide if I am going to get to them soon or not. Most that I read this year were disappointing in that they weren’t super Christmasy at all. So we shall see. Here we go!

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

I absolutely loved the way that the little area of NYC was written in this book. It seemed whimsical and dreamy and all the neighbors were so nice and friendly. And I have to call BS on that, because I don’t know anywhere in NYC that you can park Spammy and plug up somewhere and have all these connections for showers, food, etc. But in the spirit of Christmas I am going with it. It felt magical. I can always count on Mary Kay Andrews to bring a solid read.

Bottom Line: Read it

**I received a copy of Bright Lights, Big Christmas from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Winter in New York by Josie Silver

Oh this book! I loved it so much. I loved how the story went back and forth between the present and Iris’s mother’s past with Santos to allow us to understand what started this whole chain of events with the Belotti secret recipe. I loved all the characters in this book, the families, the tradition. Watching Iris and Gio meet and their relationship grow, it was all timed so well. My only gripe is with Iris’s lies. Why did there have to be so many? You know exactly how it is all going to come crashing down on her. But I still enjoyed the ride anyways. One of my favorite holiday reads this year for sure! Warning, you are going to want some gelato while reading this one!

Bottom Line: Read it.

One Margarita by Kerry Evelyn

I enjoyed the small town setting of this read. I liked the atmosphere of the two family restaurants and the history between our main characters. However, I felt like there were way too many side characters to keep up with!!! I think some were merged from another series from the author, which is great if you have read all her books. But I have to admit, even if I had, I doubt I still would have been able to keep them all straight. Which lead me to skimming some of the conversation between them all, because it was just a bit much. Also. While I can appreciate that it is a clean romance, all the kissing talk was a little immature for characters who are almost 30 years old. Their whole relationship track was weird in general and reminded me more of a high school relationship. I would have just preferred fade to dark scenes than talk of kissing someone silly or senseless or whatever terms were used. Over and over again. Pass. Both characters have their own issues, one with OCD and one with ADHD…so it was interesting to see their personalities come together.

Bottom Line: This wasn’t super Christmas-y to me, and the cheesiness of the kisses and immaturity of our characters left me wanting something different. It passed the time fine, but I was ready to move on to something else.

I received a copy of One Margarita from BookSiren in exchange for my review. All opinions are my I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

I am trying to decide how I want to rate this book. I like Mary Beth Keane’s writing, but I felt like this story moved a little to slow for me. And honestly, when I look over the book as a whole, there is not a whole lot going on. I enjoyed it while reading, but it did take me awhile to get through. I liked Malcom as a character, but also was mad at him a little bit, because he is selfish. And Jess, I never really connected to her at all in the story, and so I didn’t relate to anything she did. I found her selfish as well, especially when others become involved. (I will leave it there as to not to spoil, but if you read, you will know what I mean.) And then without giving away the ending I will just say that I felt neither character really grew or changed in the end. I did enjoy the side characters and the town.

Bottom Line: I could take this or leave it.

The Grumps Guide to Chaos by Valerie Pepper

Valerie Pepper became one of my favorite new authors of 2023. I read four of her books and I have enjoyed them all so much! If you are looking for spicy, witty romance…this is your girl.

Ok, and now that I have gushed about the author, let’s talk about the third, oldest, grumpiest Joseph brother…Will! Oh, Will. There were times I wanted to slap both of these characters who are so set in their ways and focused on their pasts. But that makes a good read, right? You want to be passionate about them and their choices. I liked that both characters were in their late 30s, it made it more relatable to me. Getting to build on all the characters we know and love from the first two books, and getting to know what happened with Will and the mom connects the dots with all the brothers. I love to read some family drama. And Tori had some of her own as well. Her story was fascinating with changing her career, coming home and trying something new. That was badass! I love how she just fit right in with the group of ladies we have all come to love. And I am going to miss this little Talladega town. Please, Valerie, keep writing small Alabama town romance! I may never look at Noccalula Falls the same after reading this book either. IYKYK.

We have second chance, lots and lots of steam, he falls first, firefighter/baker/innkeeper, forced proximity, one night to get it out of system, anxiety disorder, small town romance, so much. So good.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received an advanced copy of The Grump’s Guide to Chaos from the author in exchange for a voluntary review. **

Book reviews coming in hot! I have a few Christmas and a few not Christmas books for you today. I hit 70 books for the year with these, I had a goal set of 60. I am hoping to get a few more in this year! I didn’t keep up with my bookstagram account from the beginning of the year, so I am going to make it a goal in 2024 to start with my first read and really use it a lot more this year! I will probably still share the books I read in my stories on my main account, as I still have the most conversation and engagement there, and I truly love talking books with you all!

Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

I am not sure what I want to say about this one. First and foremost, it is a Christmas book, but besides the super cute cover and the fact that it takes place two weeks before Christmas….it isn’t very Christmas-y. That is disappointing for me, those that don’t really care to read seasonal books would probably be happy about that. Next, I would like to say how cringe these characters names are. I can handle Melody, and it would go along with the Christmas theme if this was a Christmas-y book, but Beat???? Seriously? Just no. Now, I liked the characters, and I found the two moms very interesting!!! I wish we would have gotten a little more of them even. They were hilarious. The characters were an instalove that didn’t quite work for me. Basically they met 14 years ago and have been pining for each other after a few exchanged words? No. And another thing that bothered me, Beat whines about his “privileges'” the entire novel. All the self loathing was really annoying. Oh poor Beat, who got everything he wanted growing up and feels bad about it so now he has issues as an adult. Please. It was a theme throughout the entire book and it just really got on my last nerve.

I did enjoy the reality show aspect of the plot, the characters were great minus that major flaw in Beat, and the storyline was interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading to see what happens. I liked the producer of the show, and there was a little side love story in it. Tessa Bailey knows how to spice up a book, and we get some of that here as well. Overall, this was just ok. Not her best, and certainly not the Christmas story I wanted it to be.

Bottom Line: If you enjoy Tessa Bailey, I would read this…but don’t expect to get all the warm Christmas feels from this one. It is basically just one of her usual reads that happens in December before Christmas.

**I received a copy of Wreck the Halls from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

I really enjoyed the first half of this book once I got into it. It was cute, fun, cheesy, spicy, all the things. But then there is a twist and I just didn’t love the second half of the book. It’s like the characters backslide and I start to not like them as much anymore. They’re both immature and say and do things that make me cringe. Overall, the plot was fun. I am not saying don’t read this…but I am also saying, you might be disappointed. Also, the book takes place in Christmas Notch and they are filming a Christmas movie, but I still didn’t get the cozy Christmas vibes from this book. Many are letting me down this year in that aspect.

There were some things I really liked about this book that worked well, like Kallum’s dad bod, some great side characters, and the pace at which the book moves.

Bottom Line: I am rating it 3 stars, as the first half would be 5 and the second half is more like 2.

**I received a copy of Holly Jolly Ever After from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

I love a Sally Hepworth book! They are always interesting and twisty, with unique plots and this was no different. The history of the cliff and house was interesting, and I enjoyed learning about all the different characters. I didn’t quite connect as deeply with the main character as I wanted to? I can’t put my finger on as to why. Perhaps I am tired of books using mental illness as an excuse for unacceptable behavior. And there was a lot in this book. I know it can be genetic, but it seems nearly everyone had a mental illness, it was a bit draining in that sense. And while I didn’t see certain twists coming, the ending was a little anticlimactic. But I was satisfied how it ended for Pippa. Overall this one kept me engaged the entire time, I just didn’t love it as much as her others.

Bottom Line: Read it.

**I received a copy of The Soulmate from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose

I just could not get into this book. The characters are truly horrendous. I don’t have to love or root for characters, but I need to find the storyline interesting. I got about 30% or so into this book and I was so bored, and it took me almost a month to get that far in. I couldn’t make myself care, and life is too short to read something you are vibing with. I cannot recommend this one.

Bottom Line: Pass

**I received a copy of Dirty Laundry from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are of my own.**