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Bel’s joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper from her indie podcast.
Thirty-something Connor is going to back to the start as the new intern.
The latest office news? They can’t stand each other.
So of course Bel bumps into Connor when she’s working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she’s forced to improvise, pretending they’re a couple. A couple deeply in love.
Two rivals. One fake romance. The headline writes itself…
I have loved many of the author’s other works and would read anything by her.
The Narrator(s)
Kristin Atherton. I really like her narration! Her male voices were a little funny, but not funny enough to be an issue. It was quite a pleasure.
My Thoughts
I loved this book and it reminds me why I love McFarlane’s works so much! Her books are always thoughtful, sensitive to real life issues, and yet still feeds the romantic need in my soul. I love the chemistry between Bel and Connor, and I love how their relationship builds as we move forward in the story and they continue working together. I also love the premise of the story itself; the undercover story that they work on together, the other issues that they face individually and as a team, their personal backstories, and their professional lives at stake. McFarlane’s books always hit, and I am very strongly tempted to binge read and reread all of McFarlane’s books right now.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team.
After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known?
For the Reading Challenge(s): TBD
The Reason
This book keeps turning up and catching my attention, so I decided to finally read it!
The Quotes
“We love imperfect people. We can love them and not condone their actions and beliefs.”
“When someone dies, everything about them becomes past tense. Except for the grief. Grief stays in the present. It’s even worse when you’re angry at the person. Not just for dying. But for how.”
“People say to think seven generations ahead when making big decisions, because our future ancestors—those yet to arrive, who will one day become the Elders—live with the choices we make today.”
“Some boats are made for the river and some for the ocean. And there are some who can go anywhere because they always know the way home.”
The Narrator(s)
Isabella Star LaBlanc. She did an amazing job! I was completely immersed in the story.
My Thoughts
I went into the story blind and was very surprised to find it was a contemporary young adult story. I had initially assumed it was historical fiction, but I also really loved reading about Indigenous people in our contemporary times and how that looks like for them. It was very eye-opening. I thought it started a little slow, but at the same time, I love how that set the stage for us. It got really interesting once the whole criminal investigation thing was revealed to the MC, Daunis, and the stakes got a lot higher after that. I’m not sure how to describe how I feel, but the story felt very real and emotional to me. The author did mention in an afterword that she was inspired by real events. I love that there was so much to takeaway from the book; about self-love, romantic love, the respect for tradition and culture, the strength and resilience of people who have not been treated very well. I am so glad I finally read this.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots.
Ove’s well-ordered, solitary world gets a shake-up one November morning with the appearance of new neighbors, a chatty young couple and their two boisterous daughters, who announce their arrival by accidentally flattening Ove’s mailbox with their U-Haul. What follows is a heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unlikely friendships, and a community’s unexpected reassessment of the one person they thought they had all figured out.
A word-of-mouth bestseller that has caused a sensation across Europe, Fredrik Backman’s irresistible novel about the angry old man next door is an uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions and a gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it is shared with other people.
I have been wanting to read a Fredrik Backman book for a while. I recently watched A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks, and I loved it, so I bumped this book up the TBR.
The Quotes
“People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had.”
“We always think there’s enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and then we stand there holding on to words like ‘if’.”
“Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say.”
“We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.”
The Narrator(s)
George Newbern. It was good, no notes!
My Thoughts
I am in love with this book. I watched the movie with Tom Hanks and now that I’ve read the book, I feel like it did a great job of covering most of the things that happened in the book. I love that even though I’ve watched the movie and knew what was coming, I still got so invested and emotional when I read the book. I couldn’t help myself from crying all over again at the end.
This is such a wonderful story of unconditional love; both of the romantic and platonic kind. I love that it also talks about difficult topics; of grief, and loneliness, of loss, growing old. So many difficult topics, with Ove at the center of it all. He’s a miserable old man; unfriendly, rigid, difficult. And yet, he’s got the biggest heart. He’s the perfect character for us to follow through this journey. What a joy to have read this book!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town – and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .
I watched the tv adaptation a few years ago and loved it and always meant to read the book eventually.
The Quotes
“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.”
“She had learned that when people were bent on doing something they believed was a good deed, it was usually impossible to dissuade them.”
“I’ll tell you a secret. A lot of times, parents are not the best at seeing their children clearly.”
“Where do we follow the rules, and where do we justify breaking them? Do our pasts determine what we deserve in the future? And is it ever possible to leave your past behind?”
The Narrator(s)
Jennifer Lim. It was absolutely perfect.
My Thoughts
I feel like a lot of my love for this book might have been carried over from my love for the tv adaptation. I remember a lot of key moments in the show and the vibrancy of the actors who play the characters and pictured some of the scenes as I was reading the book. This rarely happens with me but in this instance I think the show was just so good that it stayed with me, and dare I say, I think the show was better than the book. But not by much because the book was really good too.
Reading the book served to make the differences in class and privilege among the characters a lot more jarring to me. Their internal thought processes and justifications, their reasons for doing the things they did, made such a stark contrast when put into words in the book.
There have been some criticisms about the book trying to bias us towards certain characters that may or may not necessarily be right in their own actions, but I personally feel like that’s missing the point. It’s not about who’s right or wrong, all the characters did/have done questionable things, but rather, it’s about privilege. The ones who have money and privilege have more options, more connections, more ways to get themselves out of trouble, and more grace from public opinion. The poor don’t have the luxury of better options, nor grace from public opinion. They are maligned for “making bad choices” when “good choices” are just not available to them.
I love that this story highlights that, but I also think that people who have privilege may not recognize this aspect of the story because they don’t always recognize their own privilege. It’s written so subtly and masterfully, the characters are so complex and their thought processes feel so true to life, it’s just an amazing book and I loved it.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen.
Once Leena learns of Eileen’s romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another’s shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn’t as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?
I’m a fan of Beth O’Leary’s other books, and this one had been on my TBR for a while.
The Quotes
“You were healing. You’re still healing. You’ll maybe always be healing. And that’s OK. It’ll just be part of what makes you you.”
“If you’re holding someone close enough, you can be the shoulder and the crier.”
“Is it really an adventure if you don’t make at least one ill-advised decision?”
“I think part of what had made me so angry with my mum was the fact that I felt she should have been looking after me, not the other way around. But Mum couldn’t be my shoulder to cry on, not when she was bent double with grief herself. That’s the messy thing about family tragedy, I guess. Your best support network goes under in an instant.”
My Thoughts
I enjoyed the story, and I loved watching Leena and Eileen navigate their new circumstances, even if it was only temporarily for each of them. It was fun to see Eileen using online dating platforms, and I loved that we saw romance and sexual adventure happen for her. I loved how welcoming Leena’s friends were to Eileen, but I don’t really feel the same about many of Eileen’s friends towards Leena. I liked the idea and the potential of this story, but unfortunately, I don’t like the actual story very much.
My biggest issue, I think, is that I really, really, dislike meddlers and busybodies. I feel like the story wants to be a found family story, which everyone knows I love, but it falls short in execution. I’m not opposed to loved ones being busybodies out of concern, but the way it happens in this book is so much overstepping. I also feel like found family are people that become family because they prove themselves to be there for you and vice versa. In this book, it was more like they were there because of proximity. There was nothing substantial about Leena’s and Eileen’s relationship to many of the people involved. Some of them, yes, like Arnold, and Letitia, but a lot of the Neighborhood Watch were people that were just there.
It’s still a good story in itself, just not something I’d love.
My Feels
Another issue for me is more personal, and maybe it’s not fair, but this is about my feels for the book, after all. I did not like that Leena’s mother wasn’t there for her. I did not like that Eileen cared about her daughter’s feelings more than she cared about her granddaughter’s feelings. I don’t think that Eileen should have prioritized Leena over Marian, but I don’t think she should’ve prioritized Marian over Leena either.
“I think part of what had made me so angry with my mum was the fact that I felt she should have been looking after me, not the other way around. But Mum couldn’t be my shoulder to cry on, not when she was bent double with grief herself. That’s the messy thing about family tragedy, I guess. Your best support network goes under in an instant.”
The above quote feels personal for me, and I feel like O’Leary is trying to talk about the fact that sometimes you don’t get the support you need because the other person is also going through grief, and I get that, but I don’t get how it excuses Marian in this case. If you can’t look after your daughter because of your own grief, fine, but why do you think you’re entitled to her support then? Why does she have to look after you if she’s going through her own grief?
And why is Eileen getting angry at Leena for trying to have an honest conversation with her mom? Why is it okay to let Leena suffer for Marian’s avoidance? It makes me so angry!
My Rating
3/5 stars. I enjoyed the book, just not as much as I would’ve liked.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
