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anabel_unker
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*
Haley Cooper Crowe is the child of divorced parents, sister to ADHD and overall 'unhealthy' kid Ben, and friend to a small group of girls. She is, for all intents and purposes, everyone's idea of an average 15-year old. However, her father has suffered from severe mental illnesses for a long time and has convinced himself and a rag-tag group of people societal collapse is not only inevitable, but happening. After kidnapping Haley and her brother, and then abducting his ex-wife, the small compound becomes and island of itself-- no one in or out.
This book, though marketed for young adults, touches on some gruesome and mature themes-- and is definitely for an older audience. There is a graphic description of a leg amputation and mild sex scenes.
The narrator, Haley, is a young girl thrust into an adult world. Torn apart by her parent's manipulation, and forced to make decisions no one prepared her for-- she does the best she can. However, that meant a lot of indicision and erratic behavior; which, in my opinion, makes for a tedious read.
Ewan Morrison did a fantastic job creating the 'Survival Guide' that Haley read throughout the book, and it's obvious he did a lot of research into the prepper community. And there was, especially at the end of the book, a lot of interesting commentary on politics and consumerism.
Overall, HOW TO SURVIVE EVERYTHING, is another good apocolypse prepper read!
Haley Cooper Crowe is the child of divorced parents, sister to ADHD and overall 'unhealthy' kid Ben, and friend to a small group of girls. She is, for all intents and purposes, everyone's idea of an average 15-year old. However, her father has suffered from severe mental illnesses for a long time and has convinced himself and a rag-tag group of people societal collapse is not only inevitable, but happening. After kidnapping Haley and her brother, and then abducting his ex-wife, the small compound becomes and island of itself-- no one in or out.
This book, though marketed for young adults, touches on some gruesome and mature themes-- and is definitely for an older audience. There is a graphic description of a leg amputation and mild sex scenes.
The narrator, Haley, is a young girl thrust into an adult world. Torn apart by her parent's manipulation, and forced to make decisions no one prepared her for-- she does the best she can. However, that meant a lot of indicision and erratic behavior; which, in my opinion, makes for a tedious read.
Ewan Morrison did a fantastic job creating the 'Survival Guide' that Haley read throughout the book, and it's obvious he did a lot of research into the prepper community. And there was, especially at the end of the book, a lot of interesting commentary on politics and consumerism.
Overall, HOW TO SURVIVE EVERYTHING, is another good apocolypse prepper read!
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*
A tongue-in-cheek historical murder mystery, A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER is a fun, twisty, and very Clue-like story set in Regency England. Despite the rigid expectations of being a proper lady, Swampshire native Beatrice Steele has found herself in love... with murder. Well, more like reading about the murders solved by her favorite London detective. Under the guise of swooning over her crush, Beatrice locks herself in her room for hours fawning over newspaper clippings and theorizing on who-dun-it.
However, things get a little too close to home when the most eligible bachelor in town, Edmund Croaksworth, suddenly dies at the season's most-anticipated ball. Despite the impropriety, Beatrice decides to partner up with the conveniently present London detective (NOT the one she reads about, mind you) and solve the murder-- before anyone else ends up dead in the swamp water.
This book is a very heavy handed parody, and shouldn't be read by anyone other than someone looking to laugh. There were red-herrings abound, Jane Austen references at every corner, and plenty of low-brow humor (which is to be expected when the setting is literally a fictional town built on a swamp). A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER is pretty silly book-- but that's honestly part of the fun!
A tongue-in-cheek historical murder mystery, A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER is a fun, twisty, and very Clue-like story set in Regency England. Despite the rigid expectations of being a proper lady, Swampshire native Beatrice Steele has found herself in love... with murder. Well, more like reading about the murders solved by her favorite London detective. Under the guise of swooning over her crush, Beatrice locks herself in her room for hours fawning over newspaper clippings and theorizing on who-dun-it.
However, things get a little too close to home when the most eligible bachelor in town, Edmund Croaksworth, suddenly dies at the season's most-anticipated ball. Despite the impropriety, Beatrice decides to partner up with the conveniently present London detective (NOT the one she reads about, mind you) and solve the murder-- before anyone else ends up dead in the swamp water.
This book is a very heavy handed parody, and shouldn't be read by anyone other than someone looking to laugh. There were red-herrings abound, Jane Austen references at every corner, and plenty of low-brow humor (which is to be expected when the setting is literally a fictional town built on a swamp). A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER is pretty silly book-- but that's honestly part of the fun!
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity.*
Claire Richards has worked HARD to get where she is. After making the decision to forge her own path, Chef Claire leaves the sun-soaked Napa Valley behind and stuffs herself into a tiny, Parisian apartment oozing with charm. She's made a name for herself at her new job as a hard working creative type, someone unafraid of a challenge and willing to think outside the box. However, when the legendary Type-A Chef James Sullivan starts running the Teaks kitchen, the tension between the two can literally be cut with a knife. Claire suddenly has to share her beloved morning routine with the very person who seems to hate her the most, unless... he doesn't actually hate her at all?
Pros:
- I loved James Sullivan. He was charming, funny, and overall just the classic Boy-Next-Door romantic lead (at least part of the time). His family was hilarious, and I'm dying for a sequel starring his pediatrician-sister living her best life in Rhode Island.
- The overall setting was fantastic! I loved the market, the apartments, the truffle farm, the city, the restaurant-- absolutely everywhere Andrews took the reader felt really well developed and stunning.
- Theo. I absolutely loved that cheese monger and wish I had my own grandpa-esque French man that provided me with the perfect cheese (and advice) every time I asked.
- I may be in the minority, but I also appreciated the waiting-until-marriage aspect. The decision wasn't religious based (at least not overtly), and I always enjoy representation in "pop-culture" books for people who have decided to wait for whatever reason.
Cons:
- Claire is weirdly jealous of every single woman to interact with James Sullivan, from the get-go. Some of this can be explained, but there was so much bitterness and unnecessary monolouging about the "green slime" of jealousy it felt overdone.
- As much as I loved James, he was so hot and cold it was honestly confusing. He was rude to Claire from the beginning (and then had the audacity to be confused when Claire points his behavior out... multiple times) and pretty much consistently switches from warm and loving back to Mr. Iceman until the last quarter of the book. It's exhausting, and no wonder the romance is such a slow burn!
- The speed of Claire and James' relationship was absolutely breakneck. Once Claire decides she's ready to be officially with James, they get married in little over a month-- right after her own sister's wedding. It felt like the classic puritan-culture marriage where they get married super fast just so they can have sex, which I'm sure isn't what the author was intending, but is definitely how it came off. Do people get married after mere weeks of dating? Sure, especially if, like the characters, they had a wonderful friendship to build off of, but it all felt a little... unnecessary. I would have much rather had an epilogue of them getting married at the truffle farm (or Teaks) after a year or so.
Overall, I did really enjoy YES, CHEF. It was fun, and a really strong debut from author Waitlyn Andrews. This is a great option for someone wanting a slow burn, will-they-won't-they featuring lots of food and wine!
Claire Richards has worked HARD to get where she is. After making the decision to forge her own path, Chef Claire leaves the sun-soaked Napa Valley behind and stuffs herself into a tiny, Parisian apartment oozing with charm. She's made a name for herself at her new job as a hard working creative type, someone unafraid of a challenge and willing to think outside the box. However, when the legendary Type-A Chef James Sullivan starts running the Teaks kitchen, the tension between the two can literally be cut with a knife. Claire suddenly has to share her beloved morning routine with the very person who seems to hate her the most, unless... he doesn't actually hate her at all?
Spoiler
Pros:
- I loved James Sullivan. He was charming, funny, and overall just the classic Boy-Next-Door romantic lead (at least part of the time). His family was hilarious, and I'm dying for a sequel starring his pediatrician-sister living her best life in Rhode Island.
- The overall setting was fantastic! I loved the market, the apartments, the truffle farm, the city, the restaurant-- absolutely everywhere Andrews took the reader felt really well developed and stunning.
- Theo. I absolutely loved that cheese monger and wish I had my own grandpa-esque French man that provided me with the perfect cheese (and advice) every time I asked.
- I may be in the minority, but I also appreciated the waiting-until-marriage aspect. The decision wasn't religious based (at least not overtly), and I always enjoy representation in "pop-culture" books for people who have decided to wait for whatever reason.
Cons:
- Claire is weirdly jealous of every single woman to interact with James Sullivan, from the get-go. Some of this can be explained, but there was so much bitterness and unnecessary monolouging about the "green slime" of jealousy it felt overdone.
- As much as I loved James, he was so hot and cold it was honestly confusing. He was rude to Claire from the beginning (and then had the audacity to be confused when Claire points his behavior out... multiple times) and pretty much consistently switches from warm and loving back to Mr. Iceman until the last quarter of the book. It's exhausting, and no wonder the romance is such a slow burn!
- The speed of Claire and James' relationship was absolutely breakneck. Once Claire decides she's ready to be officially with James, they get married in little over a month-- right after her own sister's wedding. It felt like the classic puritan-culture marriage where they get married super fast just so they can have sex, which I'm sure isn't what the author was intending, but is definitely how it came off. Do people get married after mere weeks of dating? Sure, especially if, like the characters, they had a wonderful friendship to build off of, but it all felt a little... unnecessary. I would have much rather had an epilogue of them getting married at the truffle farm (or Teaks) after a year or so.
Overall, I did really enjoy YES, CHEF. It was fun, and a really strong debut from author Waitlyn Andrews. This is a great option for someone wanting a slow burn, will-they-won't-they featuring lots of food and wine!
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity.*
Perfect for fans of the feel of Mamma Mia (if you know, you know), THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL is a fun story about an accidental marriage, a beautiful Greek hotel on a remote island, and lots of wine. It was the perfect escapist book for people who crave adventure (and the ultimate slow-burn romance) and want to feel like they're in an early 2000s rom-com-- and I absolutely devoured it.
I adored the quirky locals of Asteri, the lush descriptions of Greek food and culture, and the opportunity to work out a little bit of my own travel fever. THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL absolute perfect end-of-the-summer read for me!!
Perfect for fans of the feel of Mamma Mia (if you know, you know), THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL is a fun story about an accidental marriage, a beautiful Greek hotel on a remote island, and lots of wine. It was the perfect escapist book for people who crave adventure (and the ultimate slow-burn romance) and want to feel like they're in an early 2000s rom-com-- and I absolutely devoured it.
I adored the quirky locals of Asteri, the lush descriptions of Greek food and culture, and the opportunity to work out a little bit of my own travel fever. THE SECOND CHANCE HOTEL absolute perfect end-of-the-summer read for me!!
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity.*
What an unexpectedly fun and whimsical Regency Romance!! When I picked up this book, reviews mentioned it was unorthodox-- and while it was definitely a modern book, Enoch was able to maintain that quintessential Regency charm in a believable manner. Narrator Mark Meadows did a wonderful job of capturing each character's unique voice, and really breathed a lot of life into an already lively book. EVERY DUKE HAS HIS DAY is the perfect playful book for fans of (non-steamy) romance and dog lovers!
What an unexpectedly fun and whimsical Regency Romance!! When I picked up this book, reviews mentioned it was unorthodox-- and while it was definitely a modern book, Enoch was able to maintain that quintessential Regency charm in a believable manner. Narrator Mark Meadows did a wonderful job of capturing each character's unique voice, and really breathed a lot of life into an already lively book. EVERY DUKE HAS HIS DAY is the perfect playful book for fans of (non-steamy) romance and dog lovers!