Tag: fiction

Book Review: The Year of What If, by Phaedra Patrick

Image belongs to Harlequin/Park Row.

Title:  The Year of What If  
Author: Phaedra Patrick         
Genre: Fiction        
Rating:    4 out of 5

Can the future be rewritten?

On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she’s found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she’s confident that, together, they’ll dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.

But when Carla’s superstitious family insists she visit a fortune teller before her big day, the tarot reveals that the love of Carla’s life is not Tom, but one of the men she dated on a gap year—twenty-one years ago. With her wedding just weeks away, Carla sets off across Europe, tracking down her exes from that unforgettable year to prove the fortune wrong. From Spain to Portugal, Italy to France, will one of them be her perfect match? And could a face from Carla’s past help her rewrite her entire family history forever?

I was a little iffy about Carla at first, with her insistence on logic and rules, but she grew on me. I loved her travels, and her bravery in returning to men she had known so long before to see if they were “the one.” Her family was pretty messed up, but I liked their quirkiness. This was a solid, enjoyable read.

Phaedra Patrick is a bestselling author. The Year of What If is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   The Calculation of You and Me, by Serena Kaylor

The image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  The Calculation of You and Me         
Author:  Serena Kaylor        
Genre: YA        
Rating: 4 out of 5

Marlowe Thompson understands a lot of things. She understands that calculus isn’t overwhelmingly beautiful to everyone, and that it typically kills the mood when you try to talk Python coding over beer pong. She understands people were surprised when golden boy Josh asked her out and she went from weird, math-obsessed Marlowe to half of their school’s couple goals. Unfortunately, Marlowe was surprised when Josh dumped her because he’d prefer a girlfriend who was more romantic. One with emotional depth.

But Marlowe has never failed anything in her life, and she isn’t about to start now. When she’s paired with Ashton Hayes for an English project, his black clothing and moody eyeliner cause a bit of a systems overload, and the dissonant sounds of his rock band make her brain itch. But when she discovers Ash’s hidden stash of love songs, Marlowe makes a desperate deal to unleash her inner romantic heroine: if Ash will agree to help her write some love letters, she’ll calculate the perfect data analytics formula to make Ash’s band go viral.

As the semester heats up with yearning love notes and late nights spent with a boy who escapes any box her brain tries to put him in, Marlowe starts to question if there’s really a set solution to love. Could a girl who has never met a problem she couldn’t solve have gotten the math so massively wrong?

This was a cute read! I really enjoyed Marlow’s POV, and Ash is a great character, too. A teenage boy who reads romances? Totally unbelievable, but awesome. I enjoyed Marlow’s two BFFs, too, but her sister kind of got on my nerves. This ended up being very sweet and fun, and would make a great weekend binge-read.

Serena Kaylor grew up in North Carolina. The Calculation of You and Me is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

The Best Books I Read in June (2024)

In June, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 108 books. I also DNFed 15 books—yikes! (I think it’s because I was behind on reading, so I was less tolerant and far less likely to keep reading to see if the story picked up). Of those 20 books, three were really excellent.

The Iron Sword, by Julie Kagawa. I’ve been re-reading this entire series since last year, one book a month, and thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering the world and the characters. I’m reading the final book in the series in July, and I’ve never read it, so I’m excited.

The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin. This was the last remaining Martin book I hadn’t read—sob—and it was so, so good! He is a master at his craft, and, as always, manages to work the gospel in there between the lines of the fiction. Now I need to watch the movie.

The Rom-Commers, by Katherine Center. I have yet to read a Katherine Center book I didn’t love, and this was no exception. Emma really made me laugh, but so did Charlie. This was a wonderful, fun read.

Book Review: Heir, Apparently, by Kara McDowell   

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books.

Title: Heir, Apparently  
Author:  Kara McDowell      
Genre: YA      
Rating:  5 out of 5

Freshman year is stressful enough without accidentally being married to the King of England. Of course, Wren Wheeler can’t tell her Northwestern classmates about that; after surviving a narrowly-averted apocalypse over the summer, everyone’s had enough excitement for one lifetime. Wren knows she needs to move on from Theo, but she can’t forget the look in his eyes when he left her on that island in Greece—and also, he took her dog.

When an ill-fated attempt to rescue Comet the Apocalypse Dog turns into a chemistry-fueled reunion with Theo that’s caught by the paparazzi, Wren finds herself under the royal spotlight. Suddenly, she’s a problem for “the firm” to solve, and in order to be protected from the rabid press, she’ll have to fly back to London with Theo. Along for the ride are Naomi and Brooke, as well as Theo’s siblings, including Henry, the brother he’s spent his life being compared to. But because the universe can’t let these two maybe-newlyweds have one conversation in peace, their plane goes down over the Atlantic, crashing on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere.

Stranded with no sign of rescue, the group will have to band together against poisonous animals, catastrophic injuries, a brotherly rivalry, and an ill-timed volcano if they’re going to make it out alive. And, scariest of all, Wren and Theo will have to face their feelings for one another and decide what they want their futures to look like—and if that future will be heartbreak, or happily ever after.

This book was so much fun! Full disclosure:  I tried—and failed—to read seven books in a row and ended up DNFing Every. Single. One. That’s definitely a record for me. So, I decided to console myself by reading this. This was the perfect pick-me-up read!  It was funny, it was cute, it was romantic…it was perfect!

I loved Wren’s POV of view and voice so much, she captures the confusions and chaos of her life so well. Theo is, of course, super attractive and appealing, despite a few annoying tendencies, and their chemistry is so much fun to read. I loved all the secondary characters, too, even Victoria.

Kara McDowell lives in Mesa, Arizona. Heir, Apparently is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

What I Read in June (2024)

Books Read in June: 20
Books Read for the Year:  108/215
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

Shift, by Rachel Vincent (re-read). Can’t believe I’ve basically forgotten this entire series.
The Other Side of the Mountain, by Charles Martin (TBR). This was the only remaining Martin book I hadn’t read, and I loved it so much! Now what am I going to do with my life?
The Iron Sword, by Julie Kagawa (re-read). I know I’d read this before, I just don’t remember it.
Death and Relaxation, by Devon Monk (TBR). It’s been a while since I’ve read any of Monk’s stuff, but I’m here for this series.
The Little Bookshop on the Corner, by Rebecca Raisin (TBR). I enjoyed this so much! I really enjoyed the banter between the two MC—it had me rolling.
Maps, Artifacts, and other Arcane Magic, by Meghan Ciana Doidge (TBR). Still enjoying this series.

For Review:

The Way of the Hermit, by Ken Smith. This was a surprisingly engrossing read. The descriptions of nature really made me want to visit the wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.

Loyally, Luke, by Pepper Basham. This was a cute romantic read, and I enjoyed the characters a lot.

Savor It, by Tarah DeWitt. This was a fun, witty read that had me rolling.

Better Left Unsent, by Lia Louis. This would be horrifying to go through, but made an entertaining read.

Barely Even Friends, by Mae Bennett. This grumpy/sunshine, enemies-to-lovers was a lot of fun to read.

The Seaside Sisters, by Pamela M. Kelley. For me, this read had almost no tensions, and the “romance” really barely happened at all.

Icon and Inferno, by Marie Lu. This was a fun read that reminded me of Ally Carter.

Right Where We Left Us, by Jen Devon. Solid romance read that I really enjoyed.

The Rom-Commers, by Katherine Center. As always, Katherine Center writes a fantastic rom-com, and I am here for it! This had me laughing and relating to Emma so much!

15 Summers Later, by RaeAnne Thayne. Kinda wanted the MC to get over herself and her self-righteous hissy fit, but this was a sweet read.

The Calculation of You and Me, by Serena Kaylor (review forthcoming). This was an enjoyable YA read. Marlow and Ash were just so stinking cute! And, a teenage boy who loves romance novels? Come on!

The Year of What If, by Phaedra Patrick (review forthcoming). Carla was a bit uptight to start off, but it was good to see her growth throughout the novel.

Left Unfinished:

A Crane Among Wolves, by June Hur. I didn’t make it very far in this. Iseul can’t stand her older sister, so her determination didn’t make any sense to me. And Daehyun was a sycophant with aspirations and got on my nerves. Just not a good fit for me.

Tired Ladies Take a Stand, by Gretchen Anthony. Yeah, these women came across as really selfish and bitchy and I didn’t like them.

Lights, Camera, Bones, by Carolyn Haines. I shouldn’t have tried to read the 27th book in a series without reading any others. This wasn’t bad, it just felt very superficial and I couldn’t get into it.

The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton. I found the POV very jarring, and I had no idea how the society worked, either, so I could not get grounded in the story.

Attached at the Hip, by Christina Riccio. The number of superficial characters in this just was too much for me.

Wild About You, by Kaitlyn Hill. The writing was solid, but the characters felt really juvenile, compared to their supposed ages.

The Quince Project, by Jessica Parra. This is the second book by this author I’ve DNFed, so I should probably just accept that her writing isn’t for me.

Shelterwood, by Lisa Wingate. I read about 10% of this and just could not get into it. It felt slow and angry and it wasn’t a good fit for me.

Bear, by Julia Phillips. The MC was just angry and mean, and this felt so slow and pointless. Not a good fit for me.

Middletide, by Sara Crouch. When I got to 20% and nothing interesting had happened except finding the body—and that was barely mention—I knew this was not a “gripping” read. Not for me.

Bitter and Sweet, by Rhonda McKnight. I read about 15% of this and just didn’t care about either MC.

Curvy Girl Summer, by Danielle Allen. I wasn’t expecting the opening scene to be a graphic sex scene, before I was even introduced to the MC, so no, thank you.

Hearts that Cut, by Kika Hatzopoulou. The beginning felt very chaotic and distant.

Titan’s Tears, by Chad Lester. The POV felt too distant for me and didn’t hold my attention.

Rules for Second Chances, by Maggie North. This felt very slow and the MC just couldn’t figure out who she was—not for me.

Book Review: 15 Summers Later, by RaeAnne Thayne    

Image belongs to Harlequin Trade/Canary Street Press.

Title: 15 Summers Later          
Author: RaeAnne Thayne         
Genre:  Romance       
Rating:  4 out of 5

15 summers ago, everything changed…

Ava Howell seemed to have it all. She moved away from Emerald Creek, Idaho, married the love of her life and published a bestselling memoir. But she never expected that her husband would feel so betrayed by a secret from her past—the truth of what happened to her and her sister all those years ago—that he’d walk away. Now Ava is back home and trying to move on with the only person who can truly understand…

Following years of healing, Madison Howell is finally happy. After college she built a no-kill shelter where she works with animals every day, and she’s in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But she can’t ever bring herself to tell him. Years ago, his dad died protecting Madi and her sister, so how could he ever love her back?

With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet. And as Ava and Madi attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.

This was a sweet read! I had some problems understanding why Maddie was so bitter towards Ava, and why she refused to even consider Ava’s point-of-view about the book, though. That came across as really selfish to me, so it was a bit off-putting, but I did enjoy both sisters. All the secondary characters were likable and believable, too, and this was a solid read.

RaeAnne Thayne lives in Utah. 15 Summers Later is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade/Canary Street Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Rom-Commers, by Katherine Center   

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  The Rom-Commers   
Author: Katherine Center  
Genre: Romance        
Rating:  5 out of 5

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

Like all of Katherine Center’s reads, this was stellar! I don’t even know how many times I laughed out lead reading this. Emma’s voice is fantastic and her and Charlie together are so much fun. I loved the style of this novel and found it drew me in from the very beginning and made me part of the story. This would be an excellent beach or weekend read.

Katherine Center is a bestselling author. The Rom-Commers is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Right Where We Left Us, by Jen Devon  

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  Right Where We Left Us     
Author:   Jen Devon       
Genre: Romance        
Rating:   4 out of 5

Temperance Jean Madigan and Duncan Brady have never gotten it right. After one radiant, secret summer together when they were eighteen, they’ve been on-again off-again ever since. Now, despite red-hot chemistry and TJ’s closeness with Duncan’s family, they’re virtually strangers, only capable of adversarial banter, awkward small talk―and the occasional messy hookup.

When a wedding at the Brady’s vineyard lands TJ there for the summer, their mutual avoidance strategies prove impossible. The last thing TJ wants is to be under those angsty, heated glances Duncan thinks he hides. And for Duncan, having fiery TJ constantly close is the ultimate distraction that he absolutely can’t afford. When forced proximity begins to chip away at their armor, buried tensions resurface, old wounds urge confrontation, and once-in-a-lifetime love demands one last chance to finally get it right.

I didn’t realize I’d read the previous linked standalone book before I started this, so seeing familiar characters was a nice surprise. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Temperance and Duncan a lot, but the entire Brady family was almost as engrossing as these two. Bonus points for the Mr. Darcy/P&P references, too. I enjoyed this read and read it straight through in one sitting. Definitely recommend it for a solid weekend read.

Jen Devon lives in Ohio. Right Where We Left Us is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   Icon and Inferno, by Marie Lu

Image belongs to Macmillan.

Title:  Icon and Inferno     
Author:  Marie Lu
Genre: YA        
Rating:  4 out of 5

A year has passed since superstar Winter and secret agent Sydney Cossette went undercover – on a dangerous mission to bring down the baddest man in London.

Winter hasn’t stopped thinking about Sydney since, and she’s been trying not to think about him

Family secrets and nasty newspapers has Winter desperate to re-enter the secret world. And it’s not long before he gets his chance.

Sydney is back, and this time the mission goes right to the heart of the United States of America. A rescue gone wrong, an assassination attempt – and the return of an old flame – puts Winter right back into the action . . . and into a country on the brink of chaos.

And when a murder accusation has Sydney on the run, suddenly it’s not just a life at stake, but all-out war.

I hadn’t read the first book in this series, but that didn’t really cause a problem—although I think it would have been better to read it. I enjoyed these characters and everything they had going on and loved the chemistry between Winter and Sydney. Lots of action, of course, and a bit of mystery about what was happening. This was a quick, fun read.

Marie Lu is a bestselling author. Icon and Inferno is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Seaside Sisters, by Pamela M. Kelley     

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   The Seaside Sisters
Author:  Pamela M. Kelley      
Genre: Fiction      
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

One summer can change everything.

Brooklyn-based Hannah is a bestselling author struggling to write her second book after personal losses. Her older sister, Sara, still lives in Chatham, Cape Cod, where they grew up, and is married with four children. Once a dedicated librarian, Sara dreams of reviving her love affair with literature, but instead, she is stuck with too many family responsibilities and a fizzling marriage.

When Hannah gets the chance to retreat to her aunt’s oceanfront house in Chatham for the summer, it seems like just the thing to get her creative juices flowing. And she’ll be able to spend more time with Sara, who is eager to find her way back into the workforce, to do something rewarding and book-related. The pair will spend the summer making friends, rekindling romance― especially Spencer, an old acquaintance from high school-turned very hot grump― and opening themselves up to the magic of books and the beach.

This…felt very conflict-free to me. Hannah’s storyline did, anyway. It felt almost placid, with only token obstacles thrown up, and Hannah’s “romance” basically didn’t take place at all. They hated each other. They became friends. There was no sign of attraction between them except for one almost-kiss. Then, poof. Hannah’s sister and her aunt had much more conflict in their relationships. This wasn’t a bad read, it was just so-so.

Pamela M. Kelley is a bestselling author. The Seaside Sisters is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)