Tag: romance

Book Review | Funny Story by Emily Henry

Posted May 22, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Funny Story by Emily Henry

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Bookish Books Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

It’s Emily Henry, of course I had to read it! And of course I waited for the audiobook because it’s Julia Whelan narrating it!

The Quotes

“You can’t force a person to show up, but you can learn a lesson when they don’t.”

“It’s a library, Daphne. If you can’t be a human here, where can you?”

“I’ve been reading since I was six. I’m getting pretty good.”

“You can’t untell someone your secrets. You can’t unsay those delicate truths once you learn you can’t trust the person you handed them to.”

“I believe you should and will have everything you’ve ever wanted, if you’re not too scared to go after it.”

The Narrator

Julia Whelan. She’s the perfect narrator for this book. I loved her interpretation of it and I’m just awed by her voice acting. The inflections and emotions that went into every single scene of the book was just perfect. I felt every feeling!

My Thoughts

This might be one of my favorite Emily Henry books! I love the jokes and the chemistry between the two MCs and I literally laughed out loud several times! I read this book with my book club buddies – it wasn’t a buddy read, we all just happened to get the book at around the same time, and it was so fun to see everyone reacting to and gushing about the book.

My Feels

It was just a plethora of feelings. Julia Whelan’s narration definitely did help with making me feel like I was right there and witnessing everything Daphne was going through; the good and the bad, and all the funny parts as well. It’s just so perfect 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?

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Time Travel Thursday | April 18

Posted April 18, 2024 by Haze in Time Travel Thursday, Weekly Book Memes / 2 Comments

It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog, this is where you get to take a look back at what you were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and get to relive those bookish memories!

This time last year I was reading:

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.

When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this one. It was just the right amount of funny, serious, and sexy. I love the funny scenes – not just the banter between Dominic and Shay, but Steve being cute and adorable, and I also love the awkward and self-deprecating stuff. The serious stuff were handled really well too – the grief and loss talk, not just on the radio but when the characters talk to each other. I love how Shay and her mom communicates about their feelings, and yes, the vulnerable conversations between Dominic and Shay gave me feelings. The sexy scenes were hot and steamy too, and I love that because it seems like sometimes you either get a fluffy love story with lots of sexy scenes, or a more serious romance without anything steamy. I really love the balance here. Definitely checking out the author’s other books!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? What were you reading this time last year?

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Book Review | Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent

Posted April 16, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent

A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates.

Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.

Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.

The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.

But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.

Even if it means wielding death itself.

Fans of epic romantic fantasy like Sarah J. Maas and Raven Kennedy will devour this tale of dark magic, passionate romance, vengeance, and redemption.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #25: An author “everyone” has read except me)
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Everyone has been talking about The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, so of course I was intrigued, but there’s a long waitlist for that book and this one by the same author happened to be available on audio, so I thought I’d try it.

The Quotes

“Men want power because it makes them feel good. Women want power because it lets us do things.”

“Did you know that when caterpillars make a cocoon, their bodies totally dissolve? They become nothing, before they become something else.”

“We had carved out these small, intimate spaces for each other in our lives, and by some miracle of human denial, neither of us had thought about what that would inevitably mean. Now, for the first time, I realized the breadth of the gaping absence we would leave in each other.”

“It’s easy to die for someone,” I said, “but it is so much more valuable to live. I do not give you permission to fail if I fail.”

The Narrator(s)

Dan Calley and Esther Wane. They were fine. I like Esther’s narration but there were parts where I couldn’t hear her properly and missed certain details. Dan’s narration had a bit of an annoying inflection, for me. I feel like I maybe would’ve liked the book more if I’d read it rather than listen to it.

My Thoughts

I liked the story, and I loved Max and Tisaanah, the whole power up montage for Tisaanah, the way they got to know each other. I’m a sucker for slow burns, vulnerable conversations, and I love how they try to protect each other. However, I feel like my enjoyment was marred a little by the narration. Maybe. I feel a little disconnected to the story and the characters, and I feel like it’s probably because of the narration. I feel like I might have missed some important details in some parts, and also the narrators’ inflections and interpretations of the voices and events influenced my thoughts about them. Objectively, I thought it was a great story, but there was just something missing somehow, and that makes me kind of ambivalent about continuing with the series.

My Feels

I think I could’ve loved the story and the characters. I think I could’ve really loved Max and Tisaanah’s love story, but I just feel disconnected. I could try again in print, but there are so many other books out there so I feel it’s really okay to let go and move on. I am still going to read The Serpent and the Wings of Night, but I’m going to make sure I read it in print!

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?

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Book Review | Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Posted April 15, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage. Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.

And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #51: Related to the word “Wild”)
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Because I loved the first book, of course!

The Quotes

“Assassins are a monstrous breed. Either they attack when you are at your worst, or they are having a go at you on your birthday. I have never known a more dishonourable profession.”

“I’m afraid I have not gotten over my resentment of him for saving me from the snow king’s court in Ljosland earlier this year, and have made a solemn vow to myself that I shall be the one to rescue him from whatever faerie trouble we next find ourselves in. Yes, I realize this is illogical, given that it requires Wendell to end up in some dire circumstance, which would ideally best be avoided, but there it is. I’m quite determined.”

“The problem is not the packing, I admit; I simply dislike travelling. Why people wish to wander to and fro when they could simply remain at home is something I will never understand. Everything is the way I like it here.”

“One of the guiding principles of dryadology,” I said, “is this: do not cross the sort of Folk who make collections of human body parts.”

The Characters

I still love Emily and Wendell, and of course Shadow too. I was very happy to see more of Poe as well. Other than that, I didn’t connect with the characters in this book as much as the ones in the first book. Professor Rose grew on me, but I didn’t love him. Ariadne seemed like an afterthought, and the rest of the cast were mostly forgettable.

My Thoughts

Despite the characters not being as memorable as the ones in the first book, I still very much enjoyed this book. I love the way the relationship between Emily and Wendell is progressing. I feel like they know each other and are very comfortable with each other, and that’s everything. The story itself is interesting and I think my favorite part was discovering the doors. I also love the journey into Wendell’s kingdom and getting a glimpse of it. I’m excited to see more of it in the next book.

My Feels

I love this book because it’s a continuation from the first book and features characters I fell in love with, but I didn’t love it as much as the first book and I’m a little dissatisfied with how the rest of the characters were written. The characters in the first book were so vivid and alive, but the ones in this book felt like cardboard cutouts.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. Still good, but I need better written characters!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt

Posted April 9, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt

When falling in love is the punchline…

Farley Jones is a loud, chaotic, and hilariously clever standup comedian on the way to stardom. The only thing she loves more than the rush of telling jokes in front of a revved-up audience is her hot older manager Meyer, though he doesn’t have a clue. Keeping her feelings hidden from him is agony (a tragedy, even―in lieu of flowers, please send cash…) but Meyer has been Farley’s closest and most treasured friend, not to mention vital to the trajectory of her career. She can’t risk ruining their relationship by telling him how she truly feels. After all, who else would have the patience to put up with a hot mess like her?

A former standup star himself, single father Meyer Harrigan left the stage years ago in order to focus on raising his deaf daughter Hazel. Farley has been everything to them since she came into their lives three years ago, and despite his grumpiness, his protectiveness over Hazel, and his disdain for public attention, Meyer will do anything to make her standup dreams come true.

When the biggest opportunity of Farley’s career comes along and forces the pair to fake-date in order to stir up publicity, it doesn’t take long for their act to bring all those other funny feelings out into the open. Like most matters of the heart, it quickly begins to feel like anything but a joke.

Touching on the creative spirit and all that comes with sharing that gift, Tarah DeWitt’s Funny Feelings is a swoony story about friendship, love, and looking for the laugh in life.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

I’ve had this on my TBR for a while. I’d also been reading a lot of heavy books all at once, and I really needed something lighthearted. It was also available on audio just as I felt I needed it most. So here we are!

The Quotes

“Well, how interesting. Men are afraid of women being funnier than them, and women are afraid of, oh, I don’t know, being oppressed, beaten, raped, or killed by men. But look out! Funny chick here might follow you down an alley and make you chuckle without consent!”

“This book is dedicated to all the women who’ve ever been told that they’re Too Much. Maybe you’re too loud, too crass, too open, too bawdy. You overshare too often, say too many bad words, you’re too weird, or too emotional. To the women who, in their quiet moments, still think back on their social interactions and wonder if they really are too much, if they should feel embarrassed, or ashamed. You are fucking incredible. You are my people. Don’t you dare dilute yourselves to make yourselves more palatable. You are all heart and fire.”

“There’s a Swiftie song for everyone.”

“As long as I remain true to myself, I know that my silly streams of words have the power to make someone’s day brighter.”

The Narrator(s)

Nelson Hobbs and Stephanie Bentley. They were pretty good. I did have some trouble hearing properly at some points, but they were few and far between.

My Thoughts

The beginning started off really strong. I love the premise and I’m always up for a fake dating trope. I also really love that there was a deaf character named Hazel, and deaf-specific jokes. I had an ear operation when I was 10 years old, and have had hearing problems and tinnitus ever since, and my name is Hazel! I’m not deaf, and I don’t think I’m even in the category of being hard of hearing, but I do struggle occasionally.

Unfortunately, I think that the later part of the book kind of slowed down and wasn’t as strong as it could be. It seemed like it lost momentum and the drama that popped up wasn’t really convincing at all. It wasn’t bad, and I still enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been.

My Feels

A lot of the book really resonated for me with the comedy, the sentiment, and many of the quotes. The romance itself didn’t do as much for me, but it was still the nice fun read that I needed.

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?

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Book Review | Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

Posted March 20, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

A charming and heartfelt romance about a woman who comes face to face with the fake Canadian boyfriend she made up as a teenager.

The fake Canadian boyfriend. It’s a thing. The get out of jail free card for all kinds of sticky social situations. “I can’t go to prom; I’m going to be out of town visiting my boyfriend in Canada.” It’s all over pop culture. But Aurora Evans did it first. Once upon a time she met a teenage hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. He was a boy. She may have fudged the “friend” part a little, but it wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again. It wasn’t like she hurt anyone. Until she did—years later—on both counts.

When pro hockey player and recent widower Mike Martin walks into the dance studio where Aurora Evans teaches, he’s feeling overwhelmed with the fact that his wife may not have been exactly who he thought she was and the logistics of going back to work. As one of the few people his angry, heartbroken daughter connects with, Aurora agrees to be a pseudo nanny to help him navigate the upcoming school year and hockey season. To his surprise, she turns out to be the perfect balm for him as well. Aurora gets him. The real him underneath his pro jersey. And yet, he still finds himself holding back, unable to fully trust again—especially when he finds out the secret Aurora’s been hiding from him.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #38: Published by Hatchette)
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

The cover caught me first because I love the colors and how fun it looked. The title and premise caught me next because I always wanted to have a fake Canadian boyfriend! 😂

The Quotes

“You know that saying about the way to get a beach body is to have a body and go to the beach? I think the way to have a dancer’s body is to have a body and use it to dance.”

“When you don’t know what to say, you usually can’t go wrong with the truth, even if it makes you or other people uncomfortable.”

My Thoughts

You know what got me? The banter, the texting, the conversations. I’ve said before that I’m a sucker for falling in love through conversations, and I just loved the interactions between Aurora and Mike here. I loved that they talked and got to know each other. I love the chemistry between them. I love a lot of the hidden gems here; with the words of wisdom, teaching moments, the friendships, the way they supported each other.

You know what I didn’t like? The unnecessary drama. It didn’t even make sense and I still don’t know what the big deal is. So she pretended he was her boyfriend years ago, so what? It’s weird and embarrassing, sure, and probably something they would’ve needed to talk about, but it really wasn’t as big a deal as they made it out to be. I also didn’t like the glossing over of Mike’s late wife’s death anniversary, the back and forth of should-we, should-we-not? I get the hesitancy, but it seemed like it was milked a bit too much.

My Feels

To be clear, there were a few problems I had with the story, but I got a lot of feels and I still really loved the romance and chemistry between the two MCs. And I’m sorry, but that whole weakness for falling in love through conversation thing is real. It’s how you get me, I can’t help but love this book!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. Pretty good, but it could’ve been better without the unnecessary drama!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Posted March 18, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

She’s got his back. He’s got her heart. They’ve got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?

Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she’s an elite bodyguard and she’s just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.

Jack Stapleton’s a Hollywood heartthrob – captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.

When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah – against her will and her better judgment – finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover.

Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done…

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #28: A yellow spine)
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

I’ve been seeing a lot of praise for Katherine Center in general and this book in particular. I also needed a fun book to get me out of a reading slump, and this one fit the bill.

The Quotes

“I guess there really is something profoundly healing about letting somebody love you.”

“Maybe love isn’t a judgment you render – but a chance you take. Maybe it’s something you choose to do over and over. For yourself and everyone else.”

“People who want to be famous think it’s the same thing as being loved, but it’s not. Strangers can only ever love a version of you. People loving you for your best qualities is not the same as people loving you despite your worst.”

“Every chance you take is a choice. A choice to decide who you are.”

The Characters

I love that Hannah Brooks, the female protagonist, transcends all stereotypes of what a bodyguard should be. I love her as a character, and I love Jack Stapleton too. I love his family so much (his brother was a little bit of a jerk though, but only a little).

You know who I hate? Robby. I hate him so much! And just when I thought I couldn’t hate him more, guess what? Yep, I hate him more!

I did wish that some of the characters were more fleshed out; there were a couple of scenes where I felt like some of them were only there as plot devices, and that they weren’t given fair representation, but overall, they were all interesting enough, and I loved the two main characters together, which is the whole point for this story!

My Thoughts

Fake dating? Check. Banter? Check. Only one bed? Check. All the fun tropes!! Plus I really, really love banter in a budding romance.

I love that the female protagonist is the bodyguard, and the male protagonist is the one who needs protecting. It was really cool seeing Hannah be a badass and do her job while also allowing the story to move the romance along. I thought the balance between male and female, masculine and feminine, yin and yang, was just so perfect here.

I also love that the author was able to write about difficult topics while telling a light-hearted love story. I’ve read one other book from the author, What You Wish For, and I remember that was one of the things I loved about that book as well.

My Feels

Honestly, I cannot resist a romance with banter and conversation. It is my biggest weakness and I just swoon whenever I read about how the MCs fall in love through conversation. I loved their conversations so much; how they got to know each other, and trusted each other enough to talk about the vulnerable things. It keeps me reading and wanting more!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. It’s so much fun and it got me through a reading slump!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Improbable Meet-Cute Series

Posted February 9, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

The Improbable Meet-Cute Series

My Thoughts

I wasn’t planning to read all of them initially. I had only just downloaded two of them – The Exception to the Rule, and With Any Luck – (they are free with Amazon Prime!) on Kindle, but I finished them both very quickly and then I wanted more, so I downloaded the rest, and finished them all too!

So here are my general thoughts; are they cute? Yes! Are they cheesy? Also yes! But are they a lot of fun? Hell yes!

Some are cheesier than others, and also totally unrealistic, and I would probably not like a couple of them if they were full-length romances. But as they are, in this format, I had so much fun reading them all! I love that they were all connected to each other in some small way, and I love how they each tied in with Valentine’s Day.

My Feels

Book 1 – The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
This one was my favorite of them all. I loved that it spanned years and that it wasn’t insta-love. Conversation and correspondence are also my weaknesses, I just cannot resist love that blossoms through love letters – or the modern equivalent to love letters. I also loved how they finally meet! It’s just wonderful from start to finish. 5/5 stars.

Book 2 – Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
This is my next favorite, and can you blame me when you realize it’s also got that love letter element? Notes on the windshield, back-and-forth correspondence, falling in love through notes before ever meeting each other. It’s just so sweet, and of course, improbable, but that’s the name of the series, so there. 4/5 stars.

Book 3 – Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
So here they also get to know each other before they see each other, but it’s not through love letters. It’s through voice. Rosie is stuck in the isolation tank, and the fireman needs to get her out. I think my enjoyment of this love story is tempered with my fear of being stuck in enclosed spaces. I loved that they connected, but I was too focused on Rosie being stuck. 3/5 stars.

Book 4 – Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory
I was very confused with the male MC’s facial expressions being all over the place, but I love the sentiment, and I love a baker. The way to my heart is through my stomach, and any man who gives me extra pastries for free and makes my favorite baked goods is gonna have a place in my heart. 3/5 stars

Book 5 – With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
I quite enjoyed this story, but it’s funny, I feel like this one would be much better as a full-length novel. I feel like the story can definitely be expanded on. I loved the characters and I love the idea of Audrey being the kiss that helps other people find their true love. I want more! 4/5 stars.

Book 6 – Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
This was probably the most improbable one for me, but hey, it’s sweet, and it’s cheesy, and I enjoyed seeing them fall for each other. 3/5 stars.

My Rating

I’ve given each story their individual rating, but collectively, I’d give them a rating of 4/5 stars. It’s just fun!

Have you read these books? Would you read these books? Did you like them or do you think you would like them?

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Book Review | The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Posted January 19, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 4 Comments

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

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?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

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?

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Book Review | Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

Posted January 3, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 11 Comments

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

Savannah Cade’s dreams are coming true. The Claire Donovan, editor-in-chief of the most successful romance imprint in the country, has requested to see the manuscript Savannah’s been secretly writing while working as an editor herself—except at her publishing house, the philosophy is only highbrow works are worth printing and commercial fiction, particularly romance, should be reserved for the lowest level of Dante’s inferno. But when Savannah drops her manuscript during a staff meeting and nearly exposes herself to the whole company—including William Pennington, new publisher and son of the romance-despising CEO herself—she races to hide her manuscript in the secret turret room of the old Victorian office.

When she returns, she’s dismayed to discover that someone has not only been in her hidden nook but has written notes in the margins—quite critical ones. But when Claire’s own reaction turns out to be nearly identical to the scribbled remarks, and worse, Claire announces that Savannah has six weeks to resubmit before she retires, Savannah finds herself forced to seek the help of the shadowy editor after all.

As their notes back and forth start to fill up the pages, however, Savannah finds him not just becoming pivotal to her work but her life. There’s no doubt about it. She’s falling for her mystery editor. If she only knew who he was.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Bookish Books Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Came across this one while browsing my library’s audiobook catalog, and it looked fun, and it’s bookish and about bookish people! I also loved the idea of communicating through notes in the margins, there’s just something old-fashioned and romantic about it, like exchanging love letters on actual paper, rather than texts nowadays. Not that texts can’t be romantic, but there’s something special about paper notes and love letters.

The Characters

Savannah and Will. I really like Savannah, and I love that she’s exactly as she describes herself in the book and in her book – she’s not special, she doesn’t stand out, she’s not the best at anything, she’s not the chosen one, she’s just your everyday, average person. She loves her job, she’s there for her friends, she loves her family, and she writes good stories. And I like her just the way she is. She’s perfect.

Will is mysterious, charming, capable, and I have a huge crush on him. I love that he’s able to do hard things. I love that he doesn’t stand down when it matters. I feel the chemistry sizzle every time he enters a scene with Savannah. I love them together!

The Quotes

“Waiting impatiently for something that will inevitably happen either way is a waste of time. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.”

“And anyway, romance isn’t just about attraction. It’s about companionship. You don’t see old married couples who’ve been through two world wars and five babies together making out on a bench when they’re ninety and think to yourself, Now THAT’S what it’s all about. You see the way they hold hands, the way they serve each other scrambled eggs on plates they got on their wedding day, the way they shuffle through the paper in the mornings together without needing to fill the space with empty conversation. Because they are happy. Just happy. Together.”

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this story. I love the chemistry between Savannah and Will, and I love their banter, both in person and on paper. I love that they get vulnerable and real with each other, and I love that they have fun together too. I did not like the storyline with Ferris and Olivia – I don’t like Ferris, and I couldn’t understand why his relationship with Olivia was presented as normal at first, so I’m happy that Will called it out later in the book.

My Feels

This may be a mild spoiler, but I don’t think so because, duh, obviously Sam isn’t Savannah’s guy! I’m pretty sure no one who reads this book would think that Sam could be the guy. I just really needed Savannah to know it and I was so frustrated with her at that point! I also felt really uncomfortable with the Ferris and Olivia situation. But otherwise, I have only good feelings about Will and Savannah, and seriously, I love their chemistry. My love language is communication, so all those written notes and banter just gets me. I love that their relationship from start to finish is mature, non-dramatic, and respectful. I love that there wasn’t any big blow-ups, dramatic misunderstandings, words thrown about in anger, and stuff like that. I just love this representation of an adult love story.

My Rating

3/5 stars. I loved it for what it was, but it’s not the best romance I’ve ever read. I think what made it good for me was the notes and banter, because I’m not kidding, written notes, love letters, and communication is just my thing.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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