danadoesbooks's Reviews (954)

Thank you to St. Martin' s Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy of Never Fall for Your Fiancée!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Never Fall For Your Fiancée is the first book in the Merriwell Sisters series.  Hugh Standish has been avoiding his mother's matchmaking skills for years by inventing a fake relationship.  Now that his mother is coming to visit, Hugh needs to find a woman to play his fake fiancée.  When Hugh meets Minerva Merriwell, who conveniently has the same first name as his fake fiancée, he hires her on the spot.  Minerva has had to care for her sisters ever since her father left them and jumps at the chance to make some extra money.  Neither one of them is prepared for how much of a disaster this whole situation becomes.

Fake dating is my favorite romance trope so from the start I knew I would love Never Fall For Your Fiancée.  Despite being terrible at scheming, Hugh and Minerva are pretty funny together.  I like how developed both them were too.  The novel followed both of them equally so I felt like I got the full story of their romance, even when they weren't communicating with each other about it.  Minerva's sisters also have their own distinct personalities. I can't wait to read the next book featuring one of them!

Teenagers Isaiah and Angel live in the thriving community of Greenwood, Oklahoma.  Isaiah must make important decisions about his future.  Angel’s father is dying and she does what she can to care for him.  However, as Isaiah and Angel begin to fall for each other, a mob invades their town and destroys everything that the community has worked towards.

I liked how the author structured this story.  The main focus for the majority of the novel is the relationship between Isaiah and Angel.  Because this book is historical fiction and we know what will happen, I found myself caught between wanting to read more to find out about their new relationship and the impending doom of the Tulsa Race Riots.

The Tulsa Race Riots were something that I never learned about in school so I appreciated learning more about it through Isaiah and Angel.  I'm planning to read Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert next month to learn more.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @NetGalley for the gifted copy of A Magical New York Christmas!  All opinions in this review are my own.

As a struggling writer living in New York City, Sabrina will take just about any job that comes her way.  When the job comes with a suite at the plaza, Sabrina can't say no.  She is hired to be the ghostwriter for the memoir of Grayson Westcott, a famous art dealer.  

While at the plaza, Sabrina meets Ian.  Just when she starts falling for him, she finds out he's a British lord.  Sabrina doesn't know how to tell him she can't actually afford to stay at the plaza.  Between Christmastime at the plaza and Grayson's own love story, Sabrina allows herself to fall for Ian and figure everything else out later!

I thought it would be more difficult to read a Christmas book at the height of spooky season, but A Magical New York Christmas is so atmospheric it feels as though you are staying in the plaza too.  I had to remind myself that it was still October as I was wishing for holiday lights and snow.

As much as I liked Sabrina and Ian's romance, Grayson's stole the show.  I would anxiously await returning to the past to find out what happened next!  In the beginning, I couldn't figure out how he fit into Sabrina's story, aside from being her boss, but all is made clear through his retelling!

I will pick up just about any book that promises to be about books, libraries, or bookstores.  I also love audiobooks read by the author so The Library Book seemed liked the perfect audiobook for me!

The Library Book focuses primarily on the 1986 fire of the Los Angeles Public Library.  It accounts for the events of the day and the investigation into the cause.  While I found this interesting, I liked that The Library Book went beyond this event.  It also delves into the evolution of libraries and how much they have adapted over the years.  I particularly enjoyed the chapter about OverDrive because I use their service so much!

I generally prefer listening to nonfiction books so I recommend this as an audiobook if you are interested in libraries!

In 1879, Anabelle is one of the first female students at Oxford University.  While at Oxford, Anabelle meets other women who are just as passionate about women's rights.  Together they try to convince the men of Parliament to allow women to vote.  Anabelle decides to target the Duke of Montgomery.  He proves to be difficult to convince, but eventually their rivalry develops into something more.

Bringing Down the Duke has been on my TBR for awhile so I'm excited to have finally read it!  I love the dynamic between Anabelle and Montgomery.  I can't wait to read the other two books in the series!

When Patrick loses his sister-in-law Sara, he also loses his best friend.  While Patrick is returning home, he also learns about his brother's addiction.  Now Patrick has turned into GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) as he is volunteered to watch his niece and nephew for the summer while his brother attends a rehab program.  Throughout the summer, Patrick learns how to grieve himself as he cares for his niece and nephew.

The Guncle is the perfect amount of sweet and sad.  It teaches you that there can be happiness inside of grief.  While in the process of grieving, you can laugh and I dare you not to at some of Patrick's antics.

Thank you to Flux Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy of City of Shattered Light!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Asa is set to inherit her father's tech company, but she is quickly realizing he doesn't always make the most ethical choices.  When he experiments on her sister, Asa decides it's for the last time and escapes with her sister's digitized mind to Requiem.

Riven is determined to make a name for herself in Requiem's underworld.  However, when Asa brings a computer virus with her to Requiem, Riven must work with the other members in her crew to help save Asa and her city.

Lately science fiction books have been hit or miss for me so I went into City of Shattered Light with no expectations.  This book hooked me in so quickly!  I definitely preferred Riven's storyline to Asa's but I love how Asa works with Riven's found family to stop the threat of this virus.  Between the slow burn romance and this technology-heavy world, I highly recommend it!

Thank you to @stmartinspress, the author, and @NetGalley for the gifted copy of Chapter and Curse!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Chapter and Curse is the first book in the Cambridge Bookshop series.  When Molly and her mother learn that her aunt needs help running the family bookshop in England, they pack their bags.  Molly has many ideas to bring in more customers, including author readings.  However, the night of their first event, one of the guests is found murdered and Molly's aunt is the main suspect!

Chapter and Curse pulled me in right from the beginning.  I would gladly pack up and move to Cambridge if someone told me they needed help running their bookshop!  I liked that there were a lot of suspects because it was hard to figure out who the actual murderer was.  Of course, that also means you need to keep track of more characters.  Overall, I loved this cozy mystery because of the atmosphere and setting!

Thank you to @lovearctually and @atriabooks for this traveling ARC copy of Grave Reservations!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Leda Foley has always had psychic visions but they are usually helpful to no one.  Her real job is trying to get her struggling travel agency off the ground.  When Leda has a bad feeling about one of her clients, she changes his flight at the last minute, just in time for him to watch his original flight explode on the runway.

Grady Merritt has just narrowly missed being on an exploding plane.  After the initial shock wears off, he realizes that his travel agent saved him.  The more he learns about Leda, the more he wants her to help him solve a cold case.

Grave Reservations was a quick, light cold case murder mystery.  As a mystery, Grave Reservations didn't blow me away.  Despite Grady reminding Leda that they need hard evidence to arrest anyone, most of the clues or leads were based around Leda's psychic connections.

It is such a small moment, but I like that Leda and her friend, Niki, play video games together.  Typically when characters play video games in books, especially women, it becomes their entire personality so I really appreciated this moment.