A retelling of Anna Karenina, Anna K is a book about love, family, and society. With a large cast of characters and a dark sense of humor, Anna K was delightful. My favorite thing about this book has to be the sarcastic jokes. It’s that type of blink and you’ll miss it, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Anna’s romance felt so visceral to me, perfectly capturing the feeling when you meet someone and have an all-consuming crush at first sight. With morally gray characters, people with far too much money, and complicated family situations to say the least, there is never a dull moment in this book. And if none of that interests you (though it should) there are some adorable Newfoundland dogs in here!!

4.5- Lock Every Door had the best atmosphere and underlying creepy vibes to it. What I loved was that even as Jules rationalizes what she’s experiencing, there’s always a strong undercurrent of unease. I enjoyed the pacing in this book, as one thing leads to another and the pressure intensifies, it becomes clear that Jules is in far too deep. I don’t want to say too much more because spoilers, but I found this story very unique, creative, and hard to put down.

4.5 stars, Kind of Cursed is a very fun, sweet book featuring Millie. Millie is now the guardian of her three younger siblings after the untimely death of their parents. While doing her best to keep the wheels of everyday life turning, Millie is also cursed. Determined not to enter into a relationship until her youngest brother comes of age- this becomes more of a challenge when Luc enters the scene. Having been commissioned by her parents before their death to remodel their kitchen, contractor Luc throws a wrench into her plan.

I was really impressed by all of the threads of story that this book managed to pull together. Oftentimes in a romance, incorporating children is really hard to do well. The siblings here all have distinct personalities, seem realistic, and are never conveniently forgotten about to advance the romance. I really liked the relationship between the siblings and Millie’s hilarious internal monologues. Weaving in Spanish was so well done in this novel and I also learned several new, inventive curses. The writing is very fast-paced and feels light and friendly. Overall, I recommend this if you’re looking for a contemporary romance about healing from loss and finding the courage to love again.

I really wanted to like this one more than I actually did. There was such good dialogue, banter, and positive friendship in this book. I enjoyed the quick wit and memorable side characters. However, trauma plays a heavy part in this story for both characters. Characters overcoming or dealing with trauma is by no means a new concept in romance. But what didn’t work for me was that the trauma reveals just kept coming relentlessly, with no real sense of closure. While I remained stuck on processing the reveal, the characters in the book had already moved on to the next reveal. It’s true that sometimes this does happen in life, (when it rains it pours) but it was a lot to take in.

I thought Laurie and Jamie were a cute couple, but the ending felt quite rushed. While the summary may suggest that the plot resembles The Hating Game, If I Never Met You is a more serious and deeper take on the office/fake-dating scenario. Based on the summary, I picked this book up expecting a much lighter story. Overall, I did enjoy my time with Jamie and Laurie and I think some readers will absolutely love this book.