Top 5 Tuesday – December 22nd

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. Today’s Top 5 Tuesday is talking about our favorite books of the year. This is so hard for me to choose but I picked ones that I am still talking to people about. I also have an honorable mention because I couldn’t leave it off my list even though it wasn’t a perfect read. Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and now being hosted by Meeghan reads.

Bad Day For Sunshine by Darynda Jones – 5 Stars This is the start of a new series and I loved everything about it. A reluctant sheriff in a small town in New Mexico that she grew up in but left when she was a teenager.

Alpha Night by Nalini Singh – 5 Stars This is number 19 in one of my favorite series! I love when a Changeling is paired with a Psy and the arrows are my favorite Psy!

Always Only You by Chloe Liese – 5 Stars I discovered Chloe Liese by reading another ARC by her and she has since become one of my favorite authors. She writes the best characters.

Anxious People by Fredrick Backman – 5 Stars Tis book was a complete surprise for me. It was my first Backman and I loved everything about it.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James – 5 Stars This was a great atmospheric thriller that had me guessing most of the book. I loved the paranormal aspect to it as well.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – 4 Stars This one is an honorable mention for me because while I had one or two small issues with it I can’t get it out of my head. I read this a couple months ago and I am still thinking about it.

Do we share any of our favorite top 5’s? Let me know in the comments below!

Book Blitz: A Billionaire for Christmas

A Billionaire for Christmas : A Secret Billionaire Romantic Comedy Holiday Boxed Set
Publication date: December 4th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

For surviving 2020, you deserve A Billionaire for Christmas. Heck, you deserve SEVEN billionaires for Christmas.

It’s been a wild ride this year. So 7 of your favorite romance authors have teamed up to raise a glass of eggnog, sit in front of the fire, and give you 7 billionaire holiday romance novels to help you make it through this last month of the year with a hot billionaire by your side, in his Maserati, with his staff cleaning your house.

Thank you, romance authors.

And what’s in this little holiday present just for you, all tied up in a bow?

Infatuation by Willow Winters — “Maybe the chill that traveled down my spine when I first saw him was a warning. A warning that once he laid eyes on me, I was his to keep. A warning that this man would stop at nothing to have me. A warning I wasn’t given until it was too late.”

Sweet Liar by Laurelin Paige — He isn’t looking for love. She’s looking for lessons and is certain he’ll be the best teacher. If he agrees, can this Love Scrooge keep his heart?

A Very Dare Christmas by Carly Phillips — Ian Dare misses the alone time and intense sex life he and his wife shared before their children were born. What’s an alpha man to do? He kidnaps Riley for an erotic weekend away before the Christmas rush overwhelms them both. Riley Dare adores her husband and she’s excited to spend time with him minus distractions on a sexy retreat where anything goes … and spontaneity leads to future surprises. A complete stand-alone for people who haven’t yet read Dare to Love but a special treat for those who want to revisit their favorite couple.

Delight Me by J. Kenner — There’s one special gift Damien wants to give his wife Nikki and their daughters for Christmas… but with a crisis brewing and time running out, can he make it home in time for the holidays?

Christmas Shopping for a Billionaire by Julia Kent — When Shannon is called to the mall to work as a sexy Christmas elf, her billionaire boyfriend, Declan, gets roped into playing Santa. The mall mommies start tweeting pictures, and soon everyone is crashing the mall to have a seat on Santa’s lap. Ho ho… ahem.

Bossy Bride by JA Huss — Jesse Boston is the man of my dreams so I’m gonna marry him. I’m not real picky about how that happens but when my mother invites my childhood nemesis, KAREN, to plan our wedding AND be one of my bride’s maids? Uh—no. We’re going to elope to Vegas on Christmas Eve, get hitched in the most ridiculous way possible, and then fly home in time for dinner. We’ve got it all figured out. Nothing can go wrong.

Santa, Baby by Blair Babylon – Peyton Cabot hates his life: being a rock star, performing for screaming crowds, being interviewed for magazines’ hottest musician of the year articles, winning awards, and banking loads of money. Yeah, it sucks to be him. Especially when the one woman who really gets him won’t return his calls anymore. When he goes to see what’s up, he gets a Christmas surprise that really rings his sleigh bells.

(Maserati and house-cleaning staff not included.)

Goodreads / Amazon

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Book Blitz: The Breakup Plan by Elle Vaughn

The Breakup Plan
Elle Vaughn
Publication date: December 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Elliot has just made the list of America’s hottest bachelors. A successful business mogul who has made a name for himself in Silicon Valley, Elliot’s life is just about perfect—that is until an incriminating photo of himself appears in a tabloid magazine. If anyone discovers who the other person in the photo is, his career would be ruined.

Penny’s life has been anything but charmed. Struggling to make ends meet, she’s determined to make a better life for herself. Desperate to rescue her little brother from the same troubled life she had growing up, Penny will do whatever it takes to make sure he’s safe. Now that she’s starting an internship at a large corporation, she can only hope this is the start of something better.

And that’s when an asshole named Elliot Faulkner makes her an offer she can’t refuse.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I think that if my family had died differently, or at least under better circumstances, I would have felt less angry. Better, maybe. More at peace. I don’t know, I guess that sounds pretty crazy. But I have to believe that if their deaths hadn’t been so fucking tragic, I could have accepted it and moved on. But I couldn’t and I never will. Because I just can’t. That’s why I was the way I was as I kid. That’s why I was the way I was as a teenager. That’s why I am the way I am now. Their deaths were a perfect illustration for the fucked up son and brother they got stuck with, and they paid the final price.

I’m just thankful I eventually got my life together. Finally pulled my head out of my ass. Somehow made it into a good college (my uncle helped with that, it pays to have connections), and that’s when things started to turn around. After years of beating myself up and hating myself, I finally figured out the secret to life. Stop giving a fuck. And I started funneling all my God-given energy into making something of myself. I live my life for me and no one else. This way I’m happy and no one gets hurt—Including myself. I keep everyone I know at arms-length and it works. I’m a damned successful executive of a damned successful corporation and I’m finally happy. After a life of torment and agony, I’m finally happy. I take what I want, pass on what I don’t, and naturally, I don’t do relationships. There’s no need for them—they only cause unhappiness which is what I’m looking to avoid. After getting a good job straight out of college (thanks again, Uncle Richard), I worked my ass off all the way to the marketing executive of a dominating online retailer, and my every dream has come true. I am exactly who and what I’ve always wanted to be. Until one day my entire fucking life was turned upside down.

So, that’s how I met the biggest pain in the ass I’d ever known—Penny Reynolds.


Author Bio:

Elle Vaughn is an avid book lover – especially romance novels. She’s the author of the Anna and Quinton novella series and is always working on a new story project. When she’s not lost in her character creations she can be found chasing around her toddler, being outside in the Colorado outdoors, gardening and attempting to cook for her family!

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Let’s Talk Bookish: December 18

Today’s Let’s Talk Bookish topic is Reading & Blogging: Their Effect on Writing. The Let’s Talk Bookish Meme is a weekly meme that is created and hosted by Rukky@EternityBooks and Dani@Literary Lion.

Have you sometimes felt that as a reader, you should also be a writer or vice versa? No, I don’t think that because you are reader you can automatically write well and same goes for people who write, they may not like to read.

Do you think that a desire to write is connected with a love of reading? No, I think it comes from having something to say.

What motivates you to write? Wanting to talk about and connect with other people who love reading as much as I do.

As a book blogger, do you ever feel discouraged about publishing a book because you know how readers & bloggers can react to books/authors? I hadn’t thought about this in that way but I always try to find the positive in my reviews even if I didn’t like the book. Not all books are made for everyone and those authors put so much time and effort in their story I always try not to be too harsh on them.

Do you think that authors can be book bloggers as well, or that they’ve crossed the imaginary line between authors and bloggers and therefore are not like other book bloggers anymore? Yes, I am friends with a few authors and they also have blogs where they review what they read. I don’t think the two need to be separated.

Book Blitz: A Sweet, Soft Glow by Josh Magnotta

A Sweet, Soft Glow
Joshua Magnotta
Publication date: December 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Thriller

In the ten years since John Malley lost his wife and daughter, he has slowly faded into obscurity in a rural Pennsylvania town. He spends his days at the local bar and tries to numb the pain of his loss. That is, until Ted’s Dead Rose Tavern becomes the home of the biggest mass killing in the history of the town. John, the lone survivor of the killing-spree, is forced on the run. He heads north where he hopes to hide out at his brother’s house.

Meanwhile, in New York City, young Melanie Parker investigates a disturbing new trend she discovered online. From what she has learned, metallic black bands worn along the forearm are responsible for some form of mind control. Skeptical of this theory, Melanie embarks on a night time excursion that places her in the middle of a riot in the middle of the city. Melanie fights for her life as chaos spreads throughout the city.

As John witnesses the events in New York, he is compelled to take action. But once in the city, John is forced to confront his past.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

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EXCERPT:

He felt a soft, cool touch on his arm. He opened his eyes, and to his right, standing next to him in the rain was Elly. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her hands outstretched toward her father. John let go of the gun and rushed to her. He swept her off her feet and held her close. Her small arms squeezed him around his neck like they always had. She was here; he could feel her heart beating against his chest as he held her tight to him.

“Elly,” he cried, his tears fell into her locks of golden-brown hair.

“Daddy,” she said.

Her arms still tightly around his neck, Elly leaned back so John could see her face. Her bright blue eyes shone back at him. And there it was, that smile he missed so much. Her face was bright, ebullient as always.

Then she was gone. John’s arms were still locked in her embrace, but she was no longer there. When he blinked, he could see her like the image on a polaroid coming into focus except in reverse. Each time he blinked, she became a little less. His head was numb, and he suddenly felt lightheaded.

Author Bio:

Josh Magnotta has been a resident of northern Pennsylvania for most of his life. Throughout his early life and teenager years he was an avid writer but during college drifted away from the passion as work and other priorities took precedence. In 2014 he graduated from college and soon began working swing shift in a factory. It was here, during off shifts where Josh would read during the night to stay awake, that his passion for writing was rekindled. After leaving the factory-life behind Josh went back to college and began work on his first novel, A Sweet, Soft Glow. He has since been writing ever since.

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The Anti – TBR Tag

I saw this over on Steph’s Romance Book Talk on Youtube and thought it looked like fun. It was created by Nicole & Her Books @Nicole & Her Books : https://youtu.be/4j_11fD44EU. These opinions are all mine and I don’t mean anything to those who love these authors or books.

•QUESTIONS•

1. A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading? Right now I would say The Night Circus.

2. A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading? (Or give one of each) So many, I went through a huge classics faze about 15 years ago and I got so bogged down I probably won’t be picking up any again any time soon.

3. An author whose books you have no interest in reading? I guess I will go with Casandra Clair or Leigh Bardugo.

4. A problematic author whose books you have no interest in reading? *you can combine questions 3 & 4, or you can answer them separately if you have an answer for both* I will not be picking anything new up from J.K. Rowling.

5. An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you? I am going to go with Sophie Kinsella and Colleen Hoover, I have read multiple books by both and while I love some I didn’t like more than I liked.

6. A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t? Literary Fiction, I like to read to escape and I feel sometimes these are too realistic for me.

7. A book you have bought but will never read? (this can be a book you have unhauled/returned to the library unread) I have way too many that I will probably never get too.

8. A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started & have dnf’d? Throne of Glass, I read the first and will probably not continue.

9. A new release you have no interest in reading? The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Again I just want to say that I have tried most of these authors or books and they just didn’t work for me. I mean no disrespect to those who love them.

Book Blitz: The Art of Loving Ellie by Loren Beeson

The Art of Loving Ellie
Loren Beeson
Publication date: November 14th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Smart, beautiful, talented, and… awkward.

Ellie Clark has big dreams of moving to the city to become a well-known artist. With the help of her eccentric boss, Alex, and his influence in the New York City art scene, everything should go according to plan. Until suddenly, Ellie comes to realize that her passion for painting has vanished with no explanation.

Despite her best attempts at avoiding distractions, she not so gracefully tumbles into a sexy stranger, adding more chaos to her already unsteady life. He continues to challenge her to the point of losing her grip on the one thing that keeps her grounded—her control, and to make matters worse, a past she had long ago made peace with is ripped wide open when she receives a phone call from a ghost of her previous life.

The refuge of her comfort zone is her greatest dependency, but Ellie doesn’t see the bigger picture. Can she risk opening her heart to this exciting, overconfident trouble-maker, or will she embrace the trauma of her past to discover that second chances aren’t just for the storybooks…

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

The wind whirls around me on my walk from the train to the office, and I continuously have to pull my hair out of my sticky lip gloss. My scarf has come loose from my coat and is flapping around, slapping me in the face repeatedly, and I’m starting to get irritated. I promised myself today would be a better day and dammit, I’m not going to let a little wind ruin it.

I’m attempting to wrangle my scarf and push the door open, all while trying to somewhat maintain my composure so Margaux doesn’t think I’m a total twit. Judging by her squinted eyes and puckered face, I can see that I’ve less than succeeded in that mission.

Finally getting inside the building, I turn around to scold the doors and realize I’ve dropped one of my bags in all of the chaos. I huff as I walk over to grab it off the floor, and turn to make my way back toward the elevator.

Instead of advancing forward to my desired destination, I’m propelled backward when I full-on body slam the solid form standing in front of me. Without even knowing who I’ve run in to, I start to sputter, “Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” Reaching out to try and stabilize us both, my hands wrap around what I realize are firm, male biceps.

My eyebrows rise in shock as my eyes adjust to what they can only perceive as the most attractive man in all of New York City. I’m struck by the curious way he’s staring at me, making me feel like a bug in a petri dish. The warm amber scent of his cologne slams my senses, and I feel a quick head rush. I expect him to be annoyed by my clumsiness, but to my surprise, he appears amused.

He lightly chuckles, “Whoa there, Windy.”

His deep, masculine voice rumbles between us, and I have to blink a few times to keep myself focused. The long sleeves of his shirt are folded halfway up his forearms, showcasing a tan that practically glows with warmth, and my fingers twitch with wonder at what it would be like to run them across his exposed skin.

The humor in his eyes shines bright, and he appears to be laughing at me. Did he happen to see the scarf display? Surely he didn’t.

“I thought that scarf was going to strangle you before you even got through the door,” he says teasingly.

Dear God, he did. My heart beats loudly in my chest, and I feel my face burning hot. My gaze follows his movements as his arm flexes to fix his disheveled hair. His shoulders are wide, and even under his button-up shirt, and form-fitting vest, I can tell he is physically fit. His slacks hug his legs in all the right places, and I’m immediately drawn to his warm, welcoming presence.

His laughter is gentle, but I feel awkward standing here in front of this gorgeous guy, looking like a klutz. The man is taller than me, and I have to bend my head back slightly just to look up at him. He blinds me with a bright white smile as my eyes travel to a small scar on his left cheek just below his eye, and I’m curious as to how he acquired it.

There’s something about him I can’t put my finger on. He’s attractive, sure—but he’s unlike any guy I’ve ever met before. A lazy, confident smile graces his lips, and the way he crowds me while keeping just the right amount of distance causes my skin to flush.

I feel self-conscious, so of course, I have to blurt out something super embarrassing. “Yeah, this scarf is a real bad boy!” My eyes practically bug out of my head in shock.

Please, tell me that did not just come out of my mouth.

With a hand cupping my eyes to block him from my sight, I try to skirt around Mr. Attractive to find anywhere to repeat to myself what a big, awkward idiot I feel like.

“Hey, wait a second!” he calls after me. His large hand wraps around my arm gently, the casual touch warming its way to my skin through my layers. I turn toward him, halting my escape.

 “Look, I—I’m sorry that I ran into you, and I’m glad I could give you a good laugh, but there’s no need to carry on.” I rub the back of my neck nervously with my free hand.

Trying to move around a man who’s a good foot taller than me is a lot harder than I realized. His eyes, which I now notice are the most beautiful shade of whiskey brown I have ever seen, lock with mine, momentarily freezing time. Though smacking the amusement out of them is pretty tempting, I’m finding it increasingly hard to breathe around this man.

The stranger continues staring at me, making me a little uncomfortable, and I glance around the lobby nervously as I wait for him to speak. I rock back and forth on my heels, gently shrugging out of his hold. “I really should get upstairs. My boss is kind of an ass when I’m late, and god-forbid I tell him I’ve been terrorizing guests downstairs.”

Tilting his head slightly, as if something about me perplexes him, he asks, “Would you like to get coffee with me?”

“G—get coffee with you?” I stutter uncertainly. He hasn’t stopped smiling since I attempted to take him down Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson style, and I’m starting to wonder just how crazy this guy is. “We’ve only known each other for five minutes?”

My heart begins to flutter a little when he takes a step forward into my personal space. “I think I’d like five more.” He winks at me and my jaw drops a little in surprise. He laughs lightly at my reaction to his request.

 “Listen, uh—” I give him a second to insert his name. When he doesn’t supply me with one, I continue, “I’m not exactly the dating type.”

 “Who said anything about dating?” he teases, but there’s a confident look in his eyes as if he knows I’m going to agree.

This guy is charming, and if I had to bet—a lady killer. His light brown hair is tousled about, but it’s not too long to be unmanageable. I momentarily let my eyes roam over him and think how he favors Alex Pettyfer quite a bit.

I’m staring at the adorable way his hair curls away from his ears when he politely clears his throat. Shaking my head, I clear my thoughts, “Oh! Well, I—I suppose coffee couldn’t hurt.”

“Charlie’s?” he asks, and I squint my eyes at him in question. There are at least five different coffee shops between this block and the next, and he chooses my favorite one. It’s odd, but I can’t find a single good reason to say no, so I breathe out an unsteady, “Okay.”

 “How’s noon, tomorrow sound?” I look past him to see that he’s left his bags by Margaux’s desk. Curious. I wonder what business he has here, but I smile up at him, trying not to give away my thoughts.

“Sure, sounds great.” Maybe he’s an artist too, or possibly meeting with someone to reserve space on a floor here.

“May I have your name?” He extends his hand for me to shake, and I reach out, feeling the soft heat of his palm against mine. “Elizabeth, but I prefer Ellie.”

He pulls my hand up to his unbelievably soft lips, giving the back of it a quick kiss, and the crooked grin he gives me piques my interest as he turns away, swaggering back toward Margaux’s desk.

I begin to sweat with nervousness on my walk over to the elevator, nausea coating the back of my tongue, and my stomach threatens to heave its contents. What was I thinking saying yes? Turning back toward the lobby slightly, I see him leaning over to Margaux with both elbows on her desk as they smile and talk about something that I can’t make out.

Mmhmm, he’s a lady killer alright.

She’s practically drooling. Poor thing probably isn’t even listening to what he’s saying, but he uses his hands excitedly while talking to her and I find it almost… endearing.

I get on the elevator and I’m forced to stare at them as I wait for the doors to shut. Margaux’s back is to me, but Mr. Attractive flicks his gaze up to meet mine right as the elevator doors are beginning to close and gives me a smile so mischievous, it causes my body temperature to rise to a feverish degree. The doors shut and I realize—I gave him my name, but he didn’t give me his.

Author Bio:

Loren is a dreamer, artist, radiologic technologist, and author who loves animals and people. Always writing short stories as a young child and young adult, she knew she wanted to become an author someday. The Art of Loving Ellie is Loren’s debut novel.

Loren can be found in her cozy home in Texas with her nose in a book, her corgi and mini-aussie on her lap, and her son trailing along with her and her husband through their many adventures.

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Book Review: The Fall in Love Checklist by

Title: The Fall in Love Checklist

Author: Sarah Ready

Genre: Women’s Fiction/Chicklit & Romantic Comedy

Release Date: November 7, 2020

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55884809-the-fall-in-love-checklist

Blurb: 

What if you made a list of all the crazy things you’ve dreamed of doing, but have been too scared to try…and then did them? Every. Last. One.

Unassuming, nice-girl Dany has always done what other people expect. She keeps her dreams buried beneath boring cardigans and beige upholstery. Until the day she’s diagnosed with breast cancer, her fiancé dumps her, and she loses everything.

Now Dany is going to do the unexpected – survive and thrive.

She has a ten step checklist and a sexy new landlord determined to tag along. Suddenly, Dany’s life goes from ordinary to wildly unexpected. But when everything turns upside down again, Dany has to decide, is number ten on her list the end or just the beginning?

Buy Links: 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2JZqNh1

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2JI7wQL

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3k3l2uG

Google Play: coming soon

Nook: https://bit.ly/32jVZxj

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3mTLxVh

Author Bio:

Sarah Ready writes romantic comedies and women’s fiction, her debut novel is The Fall in Love Checklist. She writes stories about finding love – and all the humor, heart and adventure that entails. Her next book is coming in January, 2021. You can find her online at http://www.sarahready.com.

Social Links:

http://www.sarahready.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/123257825-sarah-ready

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sarah-ready

My Review

I really liked the idea of this book, a romance with a woman who is going through chemo. The book starts off with our main character Dany, waking up from surgery and thinking that the man she is talking too is her fiancé but it’s not. Jack is in the shared room with his sister when he Dany starts to wake up and instantly takes a liking to her. Soon after Dany realizes her mistake her real fiancé comes in and breaks up with her saying he can’t deal with her having cancer, then her mother says she can’t stay with her either. Through a series of events Dany ends up renting a room from Jack and his sister, from there Dany struggles with her feelings for Jack and dealing with her cancer. I really liked the romance between Jack and Dany, it never felt forced and I thought it was really sweet. I think my favorite part was the other relationships in this book. While Dany is going trough chemo she sits with the same group of ladies and I loved their growing friendship with each other. The relationship between Jack and his sister was also great! If you are looking for a different type of romance that still has a HEA then I would recommend this one, just be warned it does deal with some heavy topics. Thank you Enticing Journey for my complimentary copy in exchange for my review.

Top 5 Tuesday – December 15th

For today’s Top 5 Tuesday we are talking about some of our favorite covers of the year. I decided to go with these 5 covers because two were cover buys and the other three are so pretty to me! Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and now being hosted by Meeghan reads.

Fable by Adrienne Young was a cover buy.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was a cover buy and one of my favorite books of the year.

A Dance with Fate by Juliet Marillier has such a beautiful cover and was a 5 star read for me!

Daughter of the Forest and Son of Shadows are two of my favorite books by Juliet Marillier and this year her original Sevenwater’s Trilogy got new covers and I think they are perfect!!!

What are some of your favorite covers of the year? Let me know in the comments!

Reading Round Up: December 1-10th

Hello friends! I feel like I haven’t posted in a while. We had a family emergency this week and its been rough around here this past week. I didn’t read as much as I usually do but I just haven’t had the time or energy to focus on reading. I hope everyone is having a great month so far! Tell me something happy in the comments below!

Forever Wild by K.A. Tucker – 5 Stars I think that Jonah and Calla could be one of my all time favorite couples! Every time we get to revisit them I am soooo happy. This is a novella that takes place during their first Christmas in Trapper’s Crossing and both of their parents flew in for the holiday. One of my favorite parts of their story is Calla’s relationship with their grumpy neighbor Roy. Calla takes it upon herself to try and reunite Roy with his estranged daughter even though she knows it probably won’t go well. After being estranged from her own father for so many years she just wants to help her friend. I always love a grumpy but love-able character and Roy doesn’t disappoint! Jonah will still sweet as ever and I love him so much and Calla is still bright eyed and optimistic. At the end of this we also got a note that Dr. Marie Lehr’s story is coming and I am so excited! After this we will just need a story for Diana and I will be happy. If you haven’t picked up this series yet I highly recommend it!!!!

Ten Rules For Faking It by Sophie Sullivan – 4 Stars As someone who struggles with anxiety I always love reading about characters with it in my books. In this one we have Everly who is a radio producer who hates her birthday. This year, when she turns 30 turns out to be one of the worst birthdays ever. After accidentally expressing her emotions on air, Everly gets roped into a Bachelorette style dating game for her station. I loved and appreciated how much of her anxiety was part of the plot, seeing her inner struggles I was one of my favorite parts of the book. We also have the perspective of the station manager Chris and how he is trying to make a name for himself in his father’s company. Chris was such a sweetheart and I loved his character so much! (Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my copy in return for my honest review.)

Ever After Always by Chloe Liese – 4.5 Stars Okay I want to start this one off by saying I had a family death happen while reading this one and I think that impacted my reading experience with the last 25% of this book. I was not in the best head space to be reading but really needed to be doing something with my time. So this is the third book in the Bergman Brother’s series and we are actually following the oldest Freya (one of the sister’s) and her husband Aiden as they are coming up on their 10th wedding anniversary. I love romance stories that are about an established couple dealing with normal issues and trying to resolve them, as someone who has been with her husband for 21 years, I love stories I can relate to in this way. I also loved that one of the main characters had anxiety and was dealing with that on top of everything else. I related to this so much and saw myself in this character! This series is great and I think everyone should add her to their auto buy list! Thank you Netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom – 4 Stars This is a fun collection of essays from the co-creator of the tv show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I really enjoyed this one and laughed a lot while reading it. I also listened to it while reading and would highly recommend listening, Rachel reads it and sings at times in the book as well. If you like hilariously relatable essays, this one might be for you. Thank you Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.