Books – April 2022

Coming at you with some book reviews! I went through a rut of not reading for a solid two weeks, but still managed to finish out April strong. I can take or leave Love Your Life….but the rest I suggest adding to your list!

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

Sally Hepworth has become a must read for me over the last few years. Her characters are always so well written, and this book is no exception. It was hard to put down, as the book alternates between the three main women. A lot of heavy topics are covered in this book from domestic abuse, rape, miscarriage, binge eating, alcoholism, murder. It was all handled really well.

My only gripe is that I had an early ARC edition, and my ending did not match with the rest of my book club. I think they got off better than I did. As my ending was very open ended with not as much closure. I can only assume that early feedback made her change it? Either way, this book was still enjoyable and I can’t wait for more from Hepworth.

Bottom Line: Read it!!!

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

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

I am not sure what I want to say about this one? Overall, I liked the story. But there were a lot of things that bothered me about it. The insta-love was not believable for me. Honestly, I never really felt the chemistry between Ava and Matt. There were so many red flags that were ignored, and Ava felt very immature to me. I did love Matt and Ava’s friends though. Nell and Topher crackers me up. I think I wanted this book to be My Not So Perfect Life. I enjoyed that one so much!!!! This one just fell flat in a lot of ways. The middle was a little dull and boring. I really like the way the book ended though. The timing there felt right, the characters seemed to grow, and I just love how it all turned out. So that makes it hard for me to rate this one.

Bottom Line: If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella, I would check it out. Overall though, it was just ok for me.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

I was instantly hooked on this book. I didn’t know much about it going into it, and that is the way I think it is best to approach this one. So I am not going to say much about it, incase there are other people reading this who haven’t gotten to this one yet. I am just going to leave you with, it covers a hard topic…but it was done so well. This book made me smile, but it was also very raw and heartbreaking. I am glad it ended the way it did, even though part of me was like but but but. I could hardly put it down.

Bottom Line: Read it!!

The Friend Zone by Abby

I loved this book! I read books two and three in the series first, but I loved them so much I knew I had to go back and read the start of it all. I loved that Kristen dealt with a lot of the female problems I do. It was so relatable for me. There are so many books about girls with anxiety, I think there should be more about girls with PCOS, endometriosis, etc. But anyways, Kristen and Josh. Swoon!!!! Their banter was so good and the connection felt real. I loved how badass Kristen was…in almost every way but one. I think it would help if you read these books in order, but it is ok if you don’t. It was 100% worth it for me to go back and read this one, I enjoyed it so much!

Bottom Line: Definitely recommend this series. Love it!

Starry-Eyed Love by Helen Hunting

This is the second book in the series, though it could be read as a stand alone. I loved getting to visit with the Spark sisters again. I feel differently about Avery (the sister from the first book) after reading this one, though. I hope there is a book for Harley, I just loved her relationship with London. They seem very close. As for London and Jackson? So cute! I really appreciated the realness of the way London felt about her position at Spark House and the things she struggled with. I like that both Jackson and London had some baggage from the past, and they really dealt with it well throughout the book. It just felt realistic to me as far as the pacing went.

The audio version was done well. I like that we have a male for the Jackson parts of the book. Both narrators are captivating.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received an audio copy of Starry-Eyed Love from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich

Diesel is back! I always love the books that have Diesel in them. This is one of my favorite series, and I never miss a book. Stephanie Plum, Joe Morelli, Ranger, Lula, Grandma Mazur…the whole gang is back for another. This time we get some crazy hackers, which I really enjoyed. Stephanie still hasn’t completely committed to one of our guys, and I am shocked that Rex is still kicking in his soup can. I just love the wacky characters and Stephanie’s antics. I never get bored.

Bottom Line: Love this series. If you are looking for a cozy mystery series with fun characters, this is for you.