Frankie doesn't believe in love or happily ever-afters due to her parents' shitty relationship and drags her feet whenever she is forced to do flowers for weddings (seriously?!). Matt, the perfect brother of Frankie's best friend, is secretly in love with Frankie and has been for many years. She can't believe Matt would be interested in her and he sets out to prove to her all the reasons she is awesome. Of course, HEA ensues after Frankie is entranced by Matt's sexy times and protective instincts.

I just found this a bit twee and tired. I couldn't really buy that Frankie would so rapidly change her mind about very entrenched beliefs no matter how sexy and great the guy. I also didn't like Matt's shitty reaction to her obvious discomfort when he told her he loved her after a very awkward moment. Dude, what were you expecting? And the ultimatums. Gross. Frankie had the bones of a great, feminist heroine (bookish, black belt, gardener), but alas the rest of the story didn't pan out for me.

Lucy and Josh are both assistants to the CEOs of their respective publishing companies, companies that recently merged. They sit across from each other and were enemies from Day 1, or are they? When a chance at a promotion comes up, the tension (increasingly sexual) runs high.

The premise of this story is fairly typical, but Sally Thorne gives it a refreshingly new and sexy voice. Josh is not a stereotypical alpha male and you'll be surprised by many of the turns in this story. I gobbled this up in one night.

I believe this may have been set in Australia? But it wasn't really made completely clear.

Re-Read June 2017 - audiobook version

This book is balm for my soul. A perfect blend of sexual tension, humor, and character development. The narrator was really great and did a fine job with both female and male voices. I found myself wanting to drive around so I could keep listening. Can't wait to read the next by Sally Thorne!

A super sweet story of two Indian-American kids who attend a coding summer camp. Their parents want them to someday marry and hope meeting at the camp will help spark something. Rishi knows about this plan and it's the only reason he is really attending. Dimple has no idea. Kismet ensues and we get a very nice YA romance.

There were stylistic choices that I personally did not enjoy and I often felt like I was reading an "after school special." Also, if you are going to an App creation/coding camp, I feel like more story should be spent talking about that as opposed to the MANY pages dedicated to rehearsal for a talent show involving a dance routine.

Rachel and Henry were best friends, but after Rachel moved away they drifted apart. Henry doesn't know that Rachel has always loved him, he doesn't know she left him a note telling him so, and he doesn't know her brother died. So, when Rachel moves back to town and takes up a job cataloging the notes and marginalia in the special library of books in Henry's family's bookstore, he also doesn't understand why they can't just be best friends again.

A tale of missed connections, a deep love of literature, grief, and finding one's way back to life.

So good. I was a bit annoyed by the depiction of Amy, Henry's girlfriend who he keeps running back to. I wish she had more agency, but she was definitely just the jerk that kept Rachel and Henry apart.

The writing was absolutely stunning and I am just adoring Aussie fiction right now!

Chaska and his sister Winona rescue a trapped Naomi while out walking their wolf (yes, a wolf) in the woods. Naomi fell into an abandoned mine and broke her leg while fleeing two escaped convicts who would have probably raped and killed her.

The injuries Naomi incurred from her escape could financially cripple the talented but poor jewelry artist, but the close knit community of the small Colorado town and the generosity of Chaska and his sister help get her back on her feet. Struggling to escape the ghosts of her past, she finds place, love, and family with Chaska.

It was definitely nice to read a romance featuring Native American leads, and in a way that was nicely handled, including accurate depictions of the hardships and struggles Native Americans still face today.

My main dislikes were just my personal taste. I found the story ARC to be very "inspirational" (lots of "fated," and brought together by god, and praying) but the sex to be very explicit which was a bit jarring. Also, the characters had a definite case of insta-love, but were still a cute couple. They were just both so nice and perfect, it was just a bit too twee for me. Also, there were a ton of technical details about mountain climbing that I skimmed over, because eh.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Well, this book is depressing. Beautifully written despite being chock full of ugly acts, addictions, rape, and despair. There are some uplifting moments and I did thoroughly enjoy reading the story but I selected this for one of my library programs I am leading before reading it, and I regret it immensely. Not looking forward to discussing this book with the public. Yikes.

Basically the exact opposite of The Night Circus. No magic, just gritty realism of how life could be if you grew up as an unwanted child in an orphanage ran by monsters on top of it also being the Great Depression.

One of my all time favorite books, with the BEST opening line EVER. I devoured the four available books in this series during my awkward adolescence and have felt like part of Roland's Ka-tet ever since.

This is the first time I've read this via audiobook, and the first time I've re-read in awhile, so I'm not sure if the paperback edition I own is slightly different from this new (2017) audiobook. There were a few times I was like WHAT, did I know that the first few go-arounds?! I noticed a lot more the references to Roland being at the beginning of his quest and the allusions this may not be the first time he's gone around the wheel.

Also, I perfectly ended listening to this while driving to the theater to watch the film adaptation! Woo hoo!

All the stars for this compelling, haunting, and absolutely stunning graphic novel!

Constructed as the sketchbook diary of a young girl named Karen Reyes who is obsessed with pulp horror monster magazines and movies, it is also an investigation of real-life monsters.

Karen, who depicts herself as a wolfman-type monster, is investigating the shocking death of her upstairs neighbor Anka while also dealing with bullies at school, her mother's cancer, a secret her beloved brother is hiding from her, and her very own identity. The story-line and art are so well-crafted it just makes you want to sit and sink into the Bic pen drawings and never come out.

This is an absolute MUST read of 2017 and the origin story of this tale and author/illustrator Emil Ferris makes it all the more compelling!

Super charming adventure tale of a young, bisexual lord, his sister, and his best friend (who he is madly in love with) who become embroiled in danger and derring-do on their Grand Tour of Europe. "Monty" is a sassy, clever, and sometimes exasperating lead who runs headfirst into his privilege but is still endearing as he fumbles his way into better character.

I was super happy with the inclusion of many non-white characters, the discussions of privilege including skin color, wealth, sexuality, and gender and the various ramifications of what these things meant in the time period. The author is also very clever to include a historical notes section that discusses these themes in the context of the time. I was only sad to see there wasn't a section that further explored alchemy, as it is a prominent plot point.

Super enjoyable and madcap. A fun read.

Spoilers ahead!

Leia Birch Briggs, a fairly famous comics illustrator and graphic novel writer, finds herself pregnant with Batman's child after a one night stand with a costumed admirer from a local Comic-Con. Not sure were to find the father and afraid to start her next graphic novel with a looming deadline, Leia coasts through the first months of her pregnancy.

When she finally decides to fess up to her family, she discovers her they are hiding many of their own secrets. Leia's beloved grandmother Birchie, with the help of her best friend Wattie, have been concealing Birchie's life-threatening and mind-altering Parkinson's. Plus, Leia discovers her step-sister, who usually has everything perfectly in order, is kicking her husband out for some unknown dastardly deeds and thus sends Leia's 13 year-old niece with her to figure out what to do about Birchie.

Both Birchie and Wattie refuse to move and want Leia to stay in Birchville. Leia, a white woman carrying a black baby, is not willing to raise her son in the deep South. Turns out Birchie and Wattie have more reasons than just stubbornness for staying in the house when a trunk of bones is discovered when the two 90 year-olds unsuccessfully try to make a run for it in Leia's car.

Looks like Leia isn't going anywhere, now that her grandmother is a murder suspect!

This is my first book by this author, and I really enjoyed it! Super great characters, lots of plot to chew on, and also humorous. I loved the relationship between Birchie and Wattie, who were the true sisters of this novel. I truly dislike the cover of this book because it in no way represents what it is about, especially since I felt like the Leia and Rachel's relationship was way more peripheral to the story.

The ending also wrapped up a little quickly, but still a great read!