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Welcome + 10 Bookish Facts About Me

Hi Friends,

If you are here today, it might be because I told my favorite corner of the internet that I launched my blog. Reading books + sharing them brings me so much joy. If you love reading (especially RomComs), this is a great space for you!

I thought I would share 10 bookish facts about me, so we can get to know each other a little bit more!

My favorite genre: Contemporary romance with a close second to memoirs.
My “best book” of 2019/2020/2021 (so far) are the following (in order): the Dinner List, the Boys Club and the Midnight Library.
A character I aspire to be like: Dannie from In Five Years, the power of loyalty and friendship during unexpected times is who I strive to be in friendships.
My favorite authors: Rebecca Serle (no surprise), Abby Jimenez and the dynamic duo, Christina Lauren.
My favorite memoir: Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden or No Happy Endings by Nora McInerny (or anything Nora writes).
My favorite children’s book was: If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Which, if you invite me to a baby shower, you will get this book.
Books that changed me: See all my books from line two!
Books that make me laugh: Red, White and Royal Blue + the Bromance Book Club series…the banter y’all, we need this!
Books that remind me of home: The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
The book I’m most looking forward to this year: This is simple, what did I pre-order?…The Soulmate Equation, Life’s Too Short, People We Meet On Vacation, The Heart Principle and The Fastest Way To Fall. It’s a full out RomCom year for me!

What are some “bookish” facts about you?

Love,

You can learn more about me + why I’m here in the About Me page.

Book Review: The Bloom Girls by Amy Pine

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Contemporary Fiction (with a romance)

Read if you liked: Gilmore Girls + My Big Fat Greek Wedding vibes

Steam: 2

Summary: via Goodreads

Thank you to @readforeverpub for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Bloom Girls will be released on August 3rd!

This book is pitched as Gilmore Girls meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding…and it didn’t disappoint. The intricacies of a modern Jewish family made me heart so happy. Plus, a multigenerational family story is 100% my lane.

Things I loved: Jewish rep and all the rabbis! That Thanksgiving dinner…wow. There was a lot of humor throughout and great one liners! Watching Gabi and her dad develop a relationship. Alissa’s relationship with her sister. The book was fast paced and quirky, and perfect for a rainy day!

Things I didn’t care for: I wish we had less off the back and forth between Matt and Alissa, we kept repeating the same situation over and over. I feel like Alissa hiding things from Gabi was really hard, and I wasn’t a big fan of that.

I really ready for the next book because we left off with a cliffhanger I need resolved!

Love,

Book Review: Home Again by Melissa Grace

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance and Adult Fiction

Warnings: cancer, death of a spouse, alzheimer’s

Read if you liked: Gilmore Girls vibes

Steam: 2.5

Summary: via Goodreads

Thank you to @heymelissagrace for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions . Home Again was released on July 27th.

I really enjoyed this second chance love story for two widowers, people in their 40s need love stories too and I’m so happy we are getting more of those! This book is packed with friends are your family vibes, lots of humor and delightful characters.

Things I loved: Bradley Cooper…the dog! Cash and Grace’s relationship. Cash’s in-laws were so sweet! Loved their group of friends and the dynamic. Ella and Grace had such a sweet mother/daughter bond going on. A lot of the things felt a true reflection of life and the evolution of friendships. This one was a bit more open door than the first which is a win for me! There where a lot of humorous moments but my favorite was the spanx and goat yoga t-shirt!

Things I didn’t care for: For me, the conflict was blown way out of proportion and I would have expected a little more understanding from people about Cash’s fears. Ella, at times, got on my nerves with her ability to jump to conclusions.

Love,

Week in Review: 7.20-7.26

My week, in review. This is a short and sweet weekly update with ratings and blurb. If they are getting their own review, I’ll share it there!

EIGHT books this week…my claim to fame, after completing my binge of the Christina Lauren’s Beautiful series, I have now read the whole backlist!

I may also now have the new opinion that I like the OG Beautiful and Wild series more than the standalones, this being a very bold statement because I love almost every standalone. Basically, CLo can do no wrong!

Physical Books

Beautiful Secret and Beautiful by Christina Lauren – 4/5 These were delightful adds to the series, written 2+ years after Player it was great to catch up with the gang + meet some new friends! These also fall more on the 3-3.5 steam scale compared to the first three which are 4-4.5. Our less steamy readers might appreciate these more.

Isn’t It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams – 4/5 I’ve already reviewed this one, I couldn’t wait but I loved Vlad and Elena’s story so much!

Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan – 4/5 Well okay Kennedy Ryan, I’m now convinced you are the Queen! I devoured this childhood friends to lovers story and I can’t wait to read more by Ryan in the future.

E-Books

Beautiful Boss and Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren – 4/5 As Stranger and Player were my favorites, these Novellas were needed for my reading experience! I loved seeing where these characters ended up!

ARCs

Thanks to @heymelissagrace for providing this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Home Again by Melissa Grace – 4/5 I enjoyed this second chance love story, full review coming tomorrow for pub date!

Audio

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain – 5/5 I could listen to Tony talk forever. And I can’t wait to see the new movie about his life

I’ve finally “kinda” caught up on ARCs, so yay! I’m about to start some new buddy reads + breaking in my new kindle, still on the fence but thank you to everyone for your advice.

See you next week!

Love,

Book Review: Isn’t It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams

Rating: 4.25/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Warnings: Kidnapping, Death of a Parent

Read if you liked: Bromance Book Club or Ever After Always

Steam: 2.5

Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Marriage in Crisis/Convenience, Slow Burn, Sports Romance, Forced Proximity

Summary: via Goodreads

Vlad and Elena are so freaking cute and this might be the best one in the series.

When I first read the concept of this series, I loved it and of course, the first in the series was marriage in crisis (which is a fav trope). It’s been a joy to read the first three books and finally get to hear about the Russian, the BEST side character of the other books!

Things I loved: Vlad is truly the most tender hearted and pure soul. The animals! The cheese! The gluten free! The food! The guys and all of their (mostly) good advice. And most of all, it would be an Adams book without delightful humor.

Things I didn’t care for: I loved that Vlad was writing a book, but I didn’t need those chapters in the book…there weren’t enough to get the full impact so they just felt misplaced.

I plan on reviewing the whole series at some point but when can we get more @lyssakayadams? And you should totally listen to @f2lpodcast episode about a real life Bromance Book Club.

Love,

Book Review: If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

Rating: 3.75/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance and Adult Fiction

Warnings: fatphobia, death of a parent

Read if you liked: One to Watch

Steam: 1/5 (Closed Door)

Summary: via Goodreads

Thank you to @disneybooks and @netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If the Shoes Fits will be released on August 3rd.

Things I loved: Shoe designer is such a unique job! The original meet-cute and adorable dates. Cindy’s relationship with her family, in a Cinderella retelling you don’t expect a lovely “step-family”. Triplets! Nice amount of pop culture spread throughout. Good plus-size representation without the whole story being about it. Likeable main and side characters. Good chemistry between Cindy and Henry.

Things I didn’t care for: This is a me thing, but I have now read 3 “dating show” books in the last year and I’m at my limit for a while. The final conflict/ending was a little rushed for me, I would have liked more!

Love,

Book Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Rating: 4.25/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Warnings: cancer, sexual assault, ableism

Read if you liked: A Charm Offensive

Steam: 3.5-4

Tropes: Fake-Dating, STEM Rep, Neurodiverse Rep, Just A Hookup, Workplace

Summary: via Goodreads

Are there books you’ve loved and recommended but realized you’ve never reviewed? So many “firsts” in a series I’ve loved I haven’t reviewed because it was before being on this platform. Be prepared for a few throwbacks coming your way!

The Kiss Quotient was one of my first steamy contemporary romances + the first I read with neurodiversity representation. I just love @hhoangwrites writing it’s funny, raw and generally just makes you FEEL all the things. It’s worth all the hype it has!

I’m a fan of this series and literally on the edge of the seat to read the Heart Principle. @berkleyromance I would do about anything to still get an ARC of this book.

Things I loved: Stella was so well written, you couldn’t help but love her endlessly. Michael was so kind and respectful of Stella. Steamy with so much consent! I loved the slow burn in the emotional realization. Neurodiversity representation. The delightful humor throughout.

Things I didn’t care for: As always, the miscommunication…I just wanted them to talk to each other. If this is my only complaint, we are doing good!

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Love,

Week in Review: 7.13-7.19

My week, in review. This is a short and sweet weekly update with ratings and blurb. If they are getting their own review, I’ll share it there!

ELEVEN books this week…y’all it’s been crazy but I totally feel like I’m giving the wrong impression about the number because two of those were novellas and two were audiobooks but this is how many I completed this week.

Physical Books

Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger and Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren – 4/5
So, I just want point out again that the Beautiful and Wild series are very different in steam level from the stand-alones. Player has been my favorite so far, which some friends told me ahead of time was their fav too. I don’t necessarily think the first book aged well in the MeToo movement with certain aspects and I had to remind myself that this was basically 2010 fanfiction to remember the vibe of when this book came out. I am glad I’m reading the series for sure! I also love that these early series have strong friendship group vibes and you get to explore that dynamic.

E-Books

Beautiful Bitch and Beautiful Bombshell by Christina Lauren – 3.5/5 So while you don’t need to read the novellas, I liked them as an add on!

My Unexpected Family by Harlow James – 4/5 The California Billionaire series, has been one of my favorite series to read this year on KU! This really rounded things off nicely!

ARCs

Thanks to @netgalley , Lake Union Publishing, @avonbooks , @smpromance for providing this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting – 3.75/5 I really enjoyed this friends to lovers story, there were some minor issues but overall a good read. Review coming soon!

All the Feels by Olivia Dade – 4/5 As someone who wasn’t obsessed with Spoiler Alert, I really really enjoyed this book! Full review coming but add it to your TBR!

The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms – 3.5/5 Freaky Friday vibes but with neighboring moms!

Audio

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain – 5/5 I don’t know what took me so long to read this but it was brilliant and I’ll never eat fish on a Monday again.

Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden – 4/5 Major CW for Drug and Alcohol abuse, if this book did anything it made me like our President more for the unending love he has for his family.

See you next week!

Love,

Book Review: Hot Under His Collar by Andie J. Christopher

Rating: 2.5/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance and Adult Fiction

Warnings: Religion, LGBTQ discrimination

Steam: 3/5

Summary: via Goodreads

Thank you to @berkleyromance and @netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Hot Under His Collar will be released on July 20th.

Father Patrick Dooley isn’t “like other priests”, (I think this means he’s more liberal and welcoming that others). Patrick joined the clergy to fulfill his mother’s dying wish but it was never his true calling and he doesn’t know what else he would do. Sasha Finerghty has a major crush on Patrick, the man she can never have, and therefore she dates men who are perfect on paper and not in real life. When Patrick’s church has a funding issue, Sasha steps in to help fundraise to keep the pre-school afloat. The more they get to know each other, the easier it is for them to fall for each other. Will they take a leap of faith for love? Or stick to what they know?

This one wasn’t really for me in the end; I had read the other two in the series (liked one + DNF’d another) so I was curious about the third. This is not really a trope you see a lot (or ever), but my thoughts the whole time as I was reading were…”Is the internal monologue always going to be how much they want to jump each other?” And it was, 70% of the time and the other 30% was actual plot. Sasha’s family was manipulative + borderline abusive. I wanted a better resolution for this and never got it. Patrick’s reasons for becoming a priest were also a lot more out of guilt than faith. I had trouble with the lack of background + character development and I feel like if there was more of this, the story would have been better.

If this is a trope you are interested in, the Intimacy Experiment did an excellent job and one of my favorite romances of the year!

Love,

Book Review: Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

Rating: 3.75/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance and Adult Fiction

Warnings: Death of a parent, abuse (in past)

Read if you liked: The Great British Baking Show + Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

Steam: 2.5-3/5

Summary: via Goodreads

Thank you @netgalley and @avonbooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Battle Royal will be released on August 17th.

Ahhhhh I love a food romance, after reading Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake and Accidentally Engaged in the last year I knew I needed more foodie + competition romances. It did take be a bit to get into this book, it was slow in the beginning but by the end I was in love with the MCs and the additional romances sprinkled in within the story.

Things I loved: All the foodie references. A grumpy/sunshine moment…Sylvie and Dominic were really sweet together. Pet was adorable and a gem of a side character. The bakery staffs really do respect their respective bosses and I loved to see them work together in a crisis. Love a royal appearance. A grumpy cat!

Things I didn’t care for: We had a lot of mini conflicts, I could have done without so many (employee gone wrong, drama on the cooking show, love confession, fake cheating scandal, bad family history)…I would have rather had one or two with more detail. This could just be a factor of me reading an ARC copy, but the writing was a bit choppy at times and there weren’t clear transitions.

Please note: I didn’t bake this cake just for the photo, but I did make sure to take photos before serving it! 😂 But look how pretty it is?

Love,

Book Review: The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Rating: 4.5/5

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Warnings: grief

Read if you liked: Family ties + self discovery vibes

Steam: N/A

Summary: via Goodreads

My review is pretty simple for this book because it was just so heartwarming and lovely. I want everyone to read it this summer!

Things I loved: Showing the importance of real and found family. I’d like a whole book about the caftans plus pool floaties. So much delightful humor. These tiny humans have my heart!!!

Things I didn’t care for: It did drag in some areas but I also think this was important for some of the character development.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Love,