dermkat's Reviews (2.11k)

This was a bit of a slow start for me but about a quarter of the way through I finally felt dialed in and invested in the characters and their plight. I think part of the issue was that there's a lot of simulators to this story and another book I read last year, but they were different enough to keep me interested. I love the main character, Cam. She's the workaholic lawyer from the city who doesn't believe in love and treats her blind date, Ben, terribly then wakes up the next morning in a cutesy town right out of a Hallmark movie with him as her neighbor. They have tasks they need to achieve in order to go home and they grow closer over time. There was some angst in this book, but a heart clenching, yearning type of angst that hurt but I enjoyed. My favorite part was that even when she does figure out what she needs to change, Cam is still herself as far as being sarcastic and sometimes grumpy, when while growing and learning to love herself and others. I don't think it was my fave by this author but by the end I definitely enjoyed it. I also think it would make a great movie. 

This is a short novel and was such a great next pick considering the author has a huge backlist and I chose sort of at random. It's a single dad with a very young baby, technically his nephew but now his son. Gideon is flailing because his long term partner abandoned them, so when his friends recommend a nanny, Toby comes into their lives and saves the day. He's live in, helps with with everything, quickly loves little Benson, and the two men start spending evenings together. They both fight their attraction until they don't, and give in even though it's unbelievably complicated. This book is a bit spicy, which I believe is the author's usual MO, I just happened to start with her book with two asexual MCs. This one is still just as sweet, though. We met some guys at the end of this book who apparently have their own story and it has fat rep so now I want to see how that goes. 

Oh my word, I'm so glad I finally read this! It's been on my TBR for a good while now because of the asexual rep, so I finally started it on International Asexuality Day. The two leads of this story are great. Jordan is gay, and probably asexual (he's figuring it out and his best friend Merry is forcing him to go to a support group meeting), works at a library, rambles when he's nervous, swears too loudly all the time, and has a crush on a guy who rides the same bus as him. Hennessey is an "internet ninja" by trade, and just moved to the area (this takes place in Sydney, Aus) after his life in boyfriend decided he actually wasnt okay with not having sex. He runs the support group and when they meet for real the connection is immediate. They start chatting on the bus and soon start dating. I love the way this book explains asexuality and the way it's a spectrum so experiences will differ from person to person as far as what they're comfortable with or interested in. Most of all, I loved seeing a relationship with two ace people that showed how swoony, sweet, and romantic a relationship can be even when sexual attraction isn't a factor. I want to read more by this author now! 

I requested this from the library when I heard about it from Paul Castle on Instagram. Like what happened to one of his pic books, a conservative bookstore owner made a stink about queer rep in the book and cancelled orders, so he was sharing for people to show support. The issue in this one? Literally the tiniest gay wedding in the background of one image at the end, the point of the page being that to their day Central Park is for everyone to enjoy. The art is soft and lovely across the board and I learned a ton about the creation of Central Park, none of which I knew before. I'm glad my library system already had two of the author's books including this one, and I would have requested it if they didn't because this book should be read and viewed. 

I got this one to go along with the first and because I remember in grade 5 I did a little report on Halley's Comet. I remember nothing about it other than making the pamphlet into a shape of a comet. This was super interesting and I learned more than I probably did then, or maybe I've just forgotten and it was a refresher. The illustrations were soft and lovely once again. 

This is such a lovely new picture book! I've read the author's autobiography about her life and disability as a topic in general years ago, so I was excited when I heard about this. It's so cute, the images are soft but bright and joyful, and sport a diverse cast of characters of all abilities, races, genders, etc. And the words? My goodness. As someone with disabling chronic illnesses, so much of it hit home and the entire time I was thinking to myself "everyone needs to read this to their kids!" I think it's going to become a favorite of disabled children since it's encouraging and realistic, and hopefully nondisabled people as well for what they learn and absorb. My fave page that I think all people, disabled and nondisabled can learn from, said: All of this-this living, this adapting, this defying-can be exhausted. There's no shame in feeling it. When you need a break, take it. Rest like a cat curled up in a patch of sunshine. 

2025 reread: I love this book! I have a personal connection to the first one, the third one I just love so much, but this one I really do think is my favorite as far as both main characters and their fake dating story. Danica (Dani) is a professor and has become workplace acquaintances/friends with her building's security guard Zafir (Zaf). She doesn't do feelings, doesn't date or consider falling in love, and doesn't know he has a thing for her. Then a video of him rescuing her from an elevator during a fire drill goes viral and in order to help his charity, she agrees to fake date him for publicity. They spend time together and end up becoming best friends, her learning about his life and anxiety, and him helping her live a more balanced life outside of work. Then they become friends with benefits and when the real feelings are finally acknowledged things go awry. Talia Hibbert has such a great way of writing, with ridiculous but smart humor, as well as nuanced characters who deal with disabilities, grief, past hurts, etc. always will be a fave of mine, and I enjoyed the audio quite a bit (it's a different narrator to the first book and I like her better). 

This ARC was very sweet, a little bit steamy, and an overall lovely read. It's got queer rep (gay and bi), fat rep, disability rep (one MC has ADHD, as does the other's sister, and one MC's parent has MS), age gap (13 years), and fairytale references galore. Ethan lives at and runs the Storybook Endings Resort, originally created for his daughter with his now ex-wife, Amy. She now lives in California, working on building her empire of resorts, and Samara lives with her full time. Her personal assistant Taylor comes up to the original location in the Catskills a week before Samara's big sweet sixteen party to get everything ready, and the two men are immediately attracted and drawn to one another. They end up having to share a cottage, eventually give in to their attraction, and enjoy all their time together, not just in the bedroom. But when it comes time for the party, their secret becomes a problem. I thought the way the conflict was handled in this book was gentle but assertive, with each character figuring out (or being told/encouraged) what they needed for themselves, in order to end up back together. I've enjoyed this author's books before and this was no exception, so thank you to Afterglow by Harlequin for this ARC! It comes out Apr 29/25.

This one was okay, but not as good as the other ones by this author. I'm always a little more hesitant when the why choose has the woman dating brothers. It's not incest since they're all just there for her, but it sometimes feels too close to that line for me. Aside from that personal preference, it was a decent story with a couple surprises near the end. It did feel like she forgave them too quickly after the third act breakup, the thing with the chef/driver/bodyguard by her apartment felt unnecessary to the story and a little over the top. That said, the whole story is about her planning the wedding of her ex-boyfriend and his fiance and then falling for his brothers, so it was bound to be dramatic at times. Either way, this book doesn't make me want to read more by the author but I liked the most recent one more so we'll see how I feel about it when something new is released. 

I enjoyed the audio for this this time, and as always I loved the book. It's second chance (no wonder it's always competed for fave in the series even before I realized how much I love that trope), with Margot from the other books getting together with Olivia, her childhood best friend turned lover at the end of highschool but then some miscommunication happens and they end up estranged for years until Olivia shows up as Brendon and Annie's wedding planner. She moves in with Margot when she is suddenly homeless and they fight their attraction for a while, until it all leads to more. I liked Margot from book one as Elle's best friend; she's sarcastic, witty, a little snarky. I'm glad she got her story, and the little epilogue at the end is a great wrap up for the whole trilogy.