Reading Round Up: November 15th-22nd

Happy Saturday friends! I am finally getting around to my round up of the gilmoreathon that I participated in onNovember 15-22. I read 6 books during this week and I am really proud of myself for that! I did read a novella and listen to an audio book so that helped!

For the prompts here is what I read.

• Book set in a small town – Unforgiven
• Mother/Daughter Relationship – Simmer Down and Ties That Tether
• Set during Fall/Winter – Booked for Christmas
• A Complicated Love Interest – Unforgiven, The Duke and I and Ties That Tether
• Asian Representation – Simmer Down
• Bake a fall treat and watch your favorite episode – I don’t bake so I made a fancy coffee and watched A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving.
• Next book in series – Unforgiven

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith – 4 Stars This was a fun read about a grumpy guy, food trucks and Maui. I really enjoyed this story about Nikki who moves to Maui to help her mother run her food truck on Maui and ends up in a competition with a new food truck who tries to take their coveted spot. Of course what follows is a fun story about the two of them realizing they have more in common then a food truck parking spot. I always love a grumpy main character (whether male or female) and when they are British that is just a bonus! Fun semi-steamy romance!

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn – 5 Stars This was a reread for me as I am gearing up for The Bridgertons to come to Netflix in December. I forgot how much I really enjoyed this book and the banter between the two main characters. Daphne is number 4 in the family of 7 and the oldest girl. While trying to get away from a would be suitor she runs into the recently returned Duke of Hastings who is know to be a rogue. The two hit it off and end up deciding to pretend to form an attachment, both using each other for their own reasons. This ends up leading to real feelings and things escalate from there. I really like the way Julia Quinn writes her story, its full of great dialogue and a little progressive but still true to the time period. Highly recommend for a fun and steamy historical romance.

Unforgiven by Jay Crownover – 4 Stars Kody Lawton lost her first love in a tragic way and has never forgiven Hill Gamble for the role he played. Now years later he is telling her again that someone close to her has died. Hill Gamble has regrets and one of them is how things are with Kody. This was a fun enemies to lovers with a little second chance romance. I really liked both characters and the journey that had to go on to be together in the end. My only complaint is that I felt like the ending didn’t really resolve itself, it kind of wrapped up their budding relationship but left something big unfinished. Now I know this is part of the plot for book 3 but still I needed a little something more.

Ties that Tether by Jane Igharo – 4 Stars Azere is a Nigerian woman who moved to Canada with her mother and sister when she was 12 years old after her father passed away. Before his death Azere promised her father that she would marry a fellow Nigerian. After being on another disaster date that her mother set her up on, Azere meets Rafael and has a one night stand. A month later guess who shows up at her job as the new hire, Rafael! I really loved this book and the journey it took us on with Azere’s heritage while trying to live in a different country and stay true to who she is as a person. Both characters at times were frustrating with their lack of communication but in the end things get worked out. A fun and semi-steamy read!

Booked for Christmas by Lily Menon – 4 Stars This was a fun Holiday Novella that I picked up by one of my favorite YA authors Sandhya Menon, Lily Menon is her pen name for her adult titles. This story takes place a few days before Christmas about a Romance writer and one of her critics. Sophia Hart is throwing a Holiday party with some close friends when her worst critic shows up as someone’s plus one. The two end up getting snowed in together and what follows is a cute story. I don’t want to say too much as this is short story but if you are looking for a fun holiday read I would look into this one!

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden – 3 Stars This one was just ok for me, I thought the story was engaging and I kept wanting to read more to find out how it ended but I am not sure if it is one I will remember in a month or two. We follow Virgil Wounded Horse who is raising his teenage nephew and is an enforcer on a reservation in South Dakota. Virgil is hired to find out who is bring drugs onto the rez and decides to take on the task when his nephew overdoses on heroine. At times this story lost me with pacing of the story, I felt like we would go pages with not much happening. I was also not a fan of the ending, I need more then an ambiguous ending, I needed facts and follow up.