danadoesbooks's Reviews (954)

Thank you to Minotaur for the gifted copy of The Guilt Trip!  All opinions in this review are my own.

This is the summer thriller I was waiting for!  I have been craving one I couldn't put down and The Guilt Trip delivered!

Six friends travel to a gorgeous villa to celebrate two of them getting married.  However, their few days away aren't all celebratory.  Secrets come out, some new and some that have been hidden for years.  The six friends won't be the same after this trip.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed The Guilt Trip.  I read it in two days because I had to find out what happens next.  Although the book follows Rachel's point of view, you never completely know what's going on and who is telling the truth!

Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the gifted copy of Fresh!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Fresh is the tale of Elliot McHugh's first year in college.  While she should be concentrating on her academics, Elliot is too busy enjoying her new life with her friends.

Margot Wood does a great job of describing the problems that most freshmen in college face.  Elliot stresses about how to make friends, how to balance her classes with partying, and how to make sure she is choosing a major she enjoys.  While Elliot is definitely a flawed main character, she does try to be a good person and mend her mistakes.

Elliot talks to the reader through footnotes, which took some getting used to.  I imagine these are a little easier to navigate when reading a physical copy.  Footnotes on an e-reader can get a little tedious.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley for the gifted copy of Where It All Lands!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Drew and Shane have been best friends since they were kids, but when Stevie moves to town everything changes.  Both boys instantly fall for her.  In order to save their friendship, Drew flips a coin to determine who can ask Stevie out.  But who does the coin land on?

I like how this book is structured because you get to see what happens in both scenarios of the coin flip.  Where It All Lands was much heavier than I was expecting.  Shane is still grieving the loss of his father and Drew is struggling to accept his father's abandonment of their family to start a new one.  This is no light-hearted YA romance.

The Samurai's Garden (1994) follows Stephen, a young Chinese man, as he recovers from tuberculosis in his family's summer home in Japan.  With World War II looming, Stephen learns more about the people who live in the village and the history that connects them.

While The Samurai's Garden focuses on Stephen, it is the story of Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo that truly grabs your attention.  This book was beautifully written and difficult to put down.  There is so much loss and heartache in it, but as the reader, you also know what is to come with World War II.  I cannot recommend The Samurai's Garden enough!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, the author, and NetGalley for the gifted copy of this book!  All opinions in this review are my own.

Seven Days in June is phenomenal.  If you are looking for a steamy summer romance, this book is everything you need.

Eva Mercy fell for Shane Hall fifteen years ago over the course of seven days in June.  After their relationship came to an abrupt end, Eva has spent the last fifteen years building a best=selling writing career and raising her daughter.  When Shane steps back into her life, Eva doesn't know if she should give into the feelings that come flooding back to her or finally cut ties with this part of her past.

I love how the book is divided into seven days and that Tia Williams plays with the timeline.  While each section starts out in the present, almost each one ends with what happened on that day in the past.  While Eva is struggling to decide what to do in the present, we are able to see what happened over the course of that week fifteen years ago.

Thank you to @bibliolifestyle, @harperviabooks, and @grahnort for the gifted copy of Home Stretch!  All opinions in this review are my own.

In 1987, residents of a small town in Ireland are devastated when there is a car accident. It is the day before two people in the car planned to get married.  Three survive the crash, but three are killed.  Home Stretch traces the magnitude of this one event through the lives of the survivors.

@BackpackingBookworm posted a fantastic review about Home Stretch when she read it so I immediately added it to my TBR.  Graham Norton did not disappoint!  He plays with the timeline of the story so that you are finding out more information about the crash in between chapters set in the 2000s.  I love how he also included a few twists that tie the story together and kept me engaged!

Set in 1991, The Mall tells the story of Cassie's last summer in her hometown before moving to New York City for college.  She has meticulously followed The Plan to get to this moment and she can't wait to leave.  However, she did not plan on her boyfriend Troy cheating on her or going on a treasure hunt all summer.  Now Cassie is dodging her ex as she runs around the mall looking for clues hidden inside the boxes of Cabbage Patch Kids.

I don't know if I've ever had so much fun reading a book.  Apparently I will pick up any book with a neon cover that is set in the 90s (see also: This is Not the Jess Show) and The Mall did not disappoint!  I stopped myself from reading it in one day because I wanted it to last longer.  The Mall is a great summer read!

Daddy Long Legs (1912) is about Judy Abbott, an orphan whose education is funded thanks to a mysterious guardian.  All the guardian asks is that she writes one letter to him a month.  Aside from the first chapter, Daddy Long Legs is the letters that Judy writes to her guardian.

Judy's letters are pretty funny and I like that she includes drawings to illustrate some of them.  Overall, this was a cute, quick read!

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the gifted copy of The Summer Sisters! All opinions in this review are my own.

Following the events in Home for the Holidays, The Summer Sisters picks up in the summer when Rose and Dahlia are working to fix up the Juniper Inn before their Aunt Sassy's birthday. The novel alternates between Rose, Dahlia, and Sassy's perspectives.

The Summer Sisters is a summer romance mixed with some family drama. I like that it followed three different characters because so much happens even though the book isn't that long.

I recommend The Summer Sisters if you need a summer escape to the mountains!

In this dark retelling of Romeo and Juliet, These Violent Delights explores the question: What if Romeo and Juliet had broken up instead of running away together?

Juliette is heir to The Scarlets. Roma is the heir to the rival gang, The White Flowers. When a violent madness invades Shanghai, Juliette and Roma must find answers before the madness kills off both of their gangs. 

I listened to the audiobook of These Violent Delights.  It was so engaging that I finished in it only a few days!  I always love a Shakespearean retelling, but Gong blends a historical world with fantasy to create a unique setting!  I'm glad I waited until now to finally read These Violent Delights because now I am anxiously waiting for November when These Violent Ends releases!