Hook, Line, and Sinker | Book Review

✨ Hook, Line, and Sinker ✨
by Tessa Bailey
Pub Date: March 1, 2022

What a fun story! I, admittedly, have not read the first Bellinger Sister book, but I don’t think that affected my feelings about this one! There were mentions to storylines that had to have happened in the first book, but I didn’t feel like I missed out! But I just might turn around and read #1 now!

This story is about sister Hannah and her evolving relationship with fisherman, Fox Thornton. I loved this story for the acknowledgment that some people are sexualized from such an early age! The things we say, the things we comment as innocent gab, sometimes does not translate that way for others. Can Fox realize/accept that he is more than a beautiful face and charm? Can Hannah step into the leading-lady role with her career & love life?

I also felt this connection with Hannah and her love for music! The feelings songs can emote and the way a good vinyl can just create the mood. Here for it!

Only reason I gave this 3.5 stars was that I felt it got really repetitive. It’s spicy/steamy & has great dialog.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

As always, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and to Avon Books for approval to read this one!

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Part of Your World | Book Review

Part of Your World
Pub Date April 19, 2022

I knew going into this book that I would >> like << it at the very least. I love the stories that Abby Jimenez weaves. She puts together love, betrayals, trying times, and intricate friendships and relationships in general, that you can't not feel like you are part of the family. 

This book did not disappoint. I LOVED this story. 

Being a Montgomery comes with a level of standards that would crush most people by the age of Kindergarten, let alone going to Ivy League colleges and 100% succeeding if not thriving. Alexis knows that her life was meant to impress and not just survive. She knows that in order to shine in her father's eyes, she needs to not only be SUPER successful, but also marry well, have only the BEST connections and friends, and anyone in her inner circle has to be equally impressive. When a decision made by her brother leaves her in a sticky situation, most of her room to make a choice for herself and her life gets taken away in an instant. 

In a town two hours away,  Daniel Grant has a different legacy to uphold. A Grant has been in the city for over 125 years. They are Mayors, they are philanthropists, they are dependable, they are carpenters, they are for the good of the "village". Daniel is morally pure and dependable and he is about to throw Alexis's world into total and utter chaos. They couldn't be more different, but the chemistry that they share is ridiculously HOT.

Is there any way that their worlds could be one? Will one of them have to choose to leave behind their century long familial legacy? 

I can't rave enough. This book had it all for me and some.

Magic, Lies, And Deadly Pies | Book Review

✨ Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies ✨
Pub Date: May 10, 2022

I finished out October with this e-ARC! Y’all – I loved it!!! It was more lighthearted yet…murdery… Here, read the synopsis from Goodreads:

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men. The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking, she’ll be out of the pie pan and into the oven. Parking her Pies Before Guys mobile bakery van outside the local diner, Daisy is informed by Frank, the crusty diner owner, that someone’s been prowling around the van- and not just to inhale the delectable aroma. Already on thin icing with Frank, she finds a letter on her door, threatening to reveal her unsavory secret sideline of pie a la murder.
Blackmail? But who whipped up this half-baked plot to cut a slice out of Daisy’s business? Purple-haired campus do-gooder Melly? Noel, the tender-if flaky-farm boy? Or one of the abusive men who prefer their pie without a deadly scoop of payback? The upcoming statewide pie contest could be Daisy’s big chance to help wronged women everywhere…if she doesn’t meet a sticky end first. Because Daisy knows the blackmailer won’t stop until her business is in crumbles.

That really tells you everything! But my take – I love the vigilante spin on baking pies! While there was definitely some controversy in the book of having a woman in a frilly dress bake pies like it’s the ‘50s, this book has heaps of inclusion, which I loved. Love, anger, revenge, mystery, murder…what more do you need?!

I recommend you read this one when it comes out next year!

Thank you to @netgalley & @crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Where the Drowned Girls Go | Book Review

✨ Where the Drowned Girls Go ✨
Publishing Jan 2022!

I realized after reading this book that it is the 7th installment in a series of Wayward Children, that may have helped me understand the world better if I had read the others.

That being said, this book is incredibly deep…not just because we follow a suicide attempt that took a girl down to the deepest trenches of the ocean, only to come out a mermaid on land. Yes, a wayward child that comes out a mermaid on land (with feet and legs) but is expected to go to a normal school? Just doesn’t work. Cora Miller needs to go to a special school, for other children that have died before & come out to tell the tale. That’s what this book is about.

It was a good, quick read that harbored many mentions of suicide, death, different worlds for those who died. If suicide is a trigger for you, this is not the book. Otherwise, it was a good YA read.

Thank you @netgalley & @torbooks for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Finlay Donovan Knocks Em Dead | Book Review

✨ Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead ✨

Y’all – I just love this series. Finlay is back at it again with the communication flaws and mystery murders! We know that Finlay has SO much going on in her life to the point that she has the nanny she can’t afford move in full-time because … life is a mess. I think that is the most relatable thing about this story. Even when you think you have it all together, life happens! The constants are the love of family and friends and how you would kill for your children, or at least, get put in some seriously dangerous situations.

Now, the first book I gave 5 stars, this one, I give 4. Here’s why: (no spoilers) –

I love that Finlay and Vero have become so close that they are like family, however, there is some serious character development lacking in the way of Vero and her past/present! This leaves for a few “why don’t you know this, Fin” questions.

Also, I get the romance is a fun added piece as Finlay is a good woman that got super screwed over and deserves some fun. Just a tad harder to love the love in this one, but it does clear up where her head is at i’m that respect.

Can’t wait for everyone to read this one!

Thank you so much to @netgalley & @minotaur_books for the early copy!

The Party Crasher | Book Review

The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella

Pub Date: October 12, 2021
Review Date: September 13, 2021

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the e-Galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There is no shame in this game, I love Sophie Kinsella. Like so many other bookworms, I started to get hooked with the initial, rave-worthy Shopaholic series, but my love for Kinsella books is now deep and drenched in the stand alone books that she writes. I don’t even know if Shopaholic is still going, but I can’t get enough of her standalones! They are witty, fun, at times spicy, but always quirky and light! Yes, there are moments of drama and relatable issues, but at the end of the day, I’m convinced Kinsella only writes with gilded computer keys!

The Part Crasher did NOT disappoint! It is all the things mentioned above and more. I wanted to live at Greenoaks! I now want to hand-paint my kitchen and no one can tell me otherwise! This story follows the journey of Effie who is the baby of the family and happens to be idealistic and – if I may – naive. Her world turns upside down when her parents decide to divorce even though she is a full blown adult and out of the house, she takes it the hardest. Adult grieving for divorce is a real thing and I bet I would need it too if that happened to me!

Effie is NOT a fan of her father’s new love interest and it starts the family war of the decade when their [prior to the divorce] family home is being sold and Effie is cordially un-invited to the party! Hence the crashing that spurs SO many fun images and risky situations.

I would definitely recommend this book to other romance, family drama, and Kinsella junkies!

A Letter to Three Witches| Book Review

A Letter to Three Witches

Pub Date: Jan 25, 2022

What a fun, light, quirky read. This story is about a coven of witches, all cousins and family members, who are not allowed to practice magic. The family has been punished from magic for 150 years! Talk about sins of the father. But what happens when you're pushed to practice? What happens when someone throws a wrench in your plans and life by way of a cryptic letter? You kind of have no choice but to do everything you can to protect your life as you know it. 
Magical mishaps, talking animals, enchanted cupcakes?! What is not to love here? 

I gave this book three stars because, for me, it was a good and enjoyable book, but it wasn't a book that I would tell my friends -  "OMG you HAVE to read this!" This would be the perfect fall read for the witchy spirit. 
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

You’d Be Home Now | Book Review

You’d Be Home Now
by Kathleen Glasgow
Pub Date: September 28, 2021

First, content warnings are important here. There are major themes in this book and while they are heavy and uncomfortable, they are real. Content warnings – drug addiction, substance abuse, suicide, death, car accident, depression, trauma. I’m sure that’s not a complete list, but those stuck out to me most.

[From Goodreads]: Inspired by the American classic Our Town, You’d Be Home Now is Kathleen Glasgow’s modern story of a town and the secret lives people live there.

[From Store Bought Epiphany]: Phew. This book was amazing. I have to say that it is such a heavy YA read I’m not sure if it should be YA or more of a New Adult. I do understand that the reality of our world is that – addiction, temptation, and drug abuse start so young now. With all of the accessibility to serious drugs, young kids in high school and possibly younger, do get the exposure and unfortunately, it’s a reality that our youth can become addicted. This book explores truth, sadness, family, secrets, and at the end of the day – love.

Our main character, Emory, has to grow up so much faster than she should. She feels the weight of the world on her shoulders and at the same time is invisible to those who matter. She is the epitome of showing that if one family member is a victim of drug abuse, the rest of the family disappears. In her world, she is responsible for her brothers failures and missteps while trying to figure out high school and who she is outside of being her brother’s keeper.

This is a dynamic story of a family torn apart by outside influences and realizes, possibly almost too late, that to fix their family, they need to come together rather than hide and ignore. I imagine this book will resonate with so many on so many different levels and on several different subjects. For that reason, I recommend this read to adults as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for allowing me the digital e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Ex Hex | Book Review

The Ex Hex
by Erin Sterling – aka Rachel Hawkins!
Pub Date: September 28, 2021

Description: [From publisher] Erin Sterling casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.

>> That description alone hooked me. <<

[From Store.Bought.Epiphany]

Vivienne (Vivi) is heartbroken over a romance that lasted all of three months! Logically, she deems it not worth the heartache, but her heart tells a different story. She is a teen witch with broken heart … what else is she to do but say a mix of words that could be curse, but a totally half-hearted one – doesn’t count.

Flash forward to nine years later and the terrible ex-boyfriend is back in town. He’s still as gorgeous as ever, still as swoon-worthy as ever, but … something may be off about his magical abilities and his luck. Maybe that Ex Hex was taken a little more seriously by the powers that be than Vivi thought. Can Vivi and Rhys (the magical heart breaker) fix what she may have broken over nine years ago and save her beloved town of Graves Glen?

This book is magical! A quick read – short chapters – fast-paced – and full of intrigue and romance. This book is Sophie Kinsella meets Alice Hoffman! Hocus Pocus meets Practical Magic! This book is a wonderful mix of light/airy quips and curses. If you’re a fan of magical worlds and love a funny dialogue – you will love this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Marrow for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Under the Whispering Door | Book Review

Under the Whispering Door
By TJ Klune
Pub Date: September 21, 2021

First and foremost, thank you times a million to NetGalley and Tor Books for gifting me the ARC of this book. I wished with all of my might to be granted early access to this book and my dream came true!

I can barely put into words…this book. I had super high expectations as The House in the Cerulean Sea has been a STANDOUT favorite of mine since I read it. This book did not disappoint.

I literally cried – in the Epilogue, it was almost to the point of random sobs! This book has a beauty that you don’t expect in a book about death. This is a heavy book about life, death, acceptance, grief, and reflection. I cannot state enough that the trigger warning/content warning in the beginning pages of this book is so necessary, but also, so appreciated that it was even included. Death is a fickle subject – it’s inevitable in life, and the subject in a book is a hard one to balance. There is no fantasizing death in this book, but rather, the notion that death is not the end-all be-all of existence. There is no religious heaven or hell, no denomination of belief here, and I think that is really hard to do when discussing death. Well done, TJ Klune.

This book was funny, unexpected, poignant, and wonderful. 5-stars from me.