dermkat's Reviews (2.11k)

I honestly chose this because it reminded me of the Pucking series (similar cover design and colors, poly story with three people and the two dudes have been friends forever, with a bi awakening for one) and wanted to see if it would hold up on its own. Thankfully, it felt like an entirely different book, those were just coincidences, and I really enjoyed it! It's the third in the series so I'm going to read the little novella about these three and then go back and read the first two because I liked the friends they were about. Mia is working as a pediatric medicine intern and trying to grow a charity working with Prosthetics for Kids. She takes a weekend off to go from Ottawa to Napa for her friends' wedding and (thanks to the meddling friends) ends up staying in a villa with the two guys she fell in love with in university and hasn't seen since as she didn't want to come between them. Alex and River now play on the same NHL team and are still best friends, but both still love her and want to share her. They have a wild weekend together and then are sad when they all go home, but then her life is thrown upside down because of her controlling ex and they swoop in to rescue her and see if they can all make it work. Meanwhile, River is bi and has had feelings for Alex for a while but Alex is slowly realizing he may not be as straight as he thought, at least when it comes to his best friend. My one weird thing with this was that I found out after that the author is Canadian but at one point I thought I'd caught the author out because she had the Canadian character thinking about the temperature in Fahrenheit... was that just part of the pattern where Canadian authors feel like they have to cater to American readers? Did an editor change it? Who knows, didn't bug me that much was just a weird thing. 

It's been a bit since I read the first two in this series but have vague recollections and know that they're always emotional and angsty. Well, the final book is no different and it was so good! It is MFM romance but not truly until later on because we get the story in the past when Key and Dusty grew up together and were in love, and then the present where Dusty and Joel meet multiple times and then fall in love. And this is all without her knowing the two men are best friends and bandmates and the guys not communicating either so no one knew. This is all happening while someone from the guys' past shows up making claims of theft whatever else saying he wrote the songs. The despair some of these people felt at times was palpable; the longing, the hope, the love, the hurt (some religious trauma and rough childhoods), all intense. But it is a romance so things work out. Also, I had forgotten until partway through chapter one that it's set in the late 80s. Excited to see what's next from the author cuz this whole series was intense but really good. 
•Dyslexia rep

Okay, this was SO GOOD! I knew it would be, as Kayla Grosse can do no wrong as far I'm concerned, and it lived up to the hype. Jesse's had two heart attacks and then an ICD implanted two months ago and now has written out a bucket list she wants to start working on. When her one night stand (first on the list) turns out to be her best friend's brother, they end up travelling together on a bucket list trip in his Winnebago with his cat, Gus. But just as friends, or so they say. He falls fast and hard for her and the whole time has to hold himself back, while she holds back from even admitting her feelings for a different reason. 
The road trip aspect was super well done in this one. It often felt like I was there, especially when I decided to google if one of the first stops was real and it WAS. If you've never heard of The World's Only Corn Palace in South Dakota, google it and look at the murals they make out of corn, wheat, and grass, they're incredible.
I love when a novel teaches me things, or gets me interested in something from real life, and that happened as well in this book with the chronic illness rep. I had heard of Kawasaki Disease and vaguely recalled that it was something that kids get. I didn't know how it going untreated or undetected can affect them later as adults, so it was super interesting to learn about it through a character's experience, one that I know was informed by the author's experience as well as sensitivity readers. There was good medicated ADHD rep in Asher, and, as always, I love the way this author writes fat characters and how their love interests appreciate their bodies. 
These two were meant for each other and one of my favorite parts was that she mentions she doesn't like awkward silences and he wonders if she doesn't realize they've had silences while on the road because they weren't awkward. I've always loved the idea of and hoped that if I end up with someone some day, we will be able to just exist together comfortably, so I loved this about them. 

•Kawasaki disease rep
•ICD implant rep
•ADHD rep
•Out now on KU and in all formats

I love a good time loop story so I was hopeful about this ARC, and I really enjoyed it! 

It has all the classic time loop aspects you want: figuring out how you got in the loop and trying to find the person again (to no avail); trying different things to break the loop (kisses, staying up late, quitting your terrible job, repairing or ending strained relationships, etc.); and being different levels of wreckless once you know you're stuck and don't have consequences (multiple haircuts, trips from Toronto to New York and Vancouver, manufacturing a way to meet the cute guy you've run into more than once to initiative a meet cute and hopefully get a kiss to see if that breaks the loop and then doing that multiple times since he won't remember you embarassing yourself, etc.). It was very well done, and I especially liked that she found someone else stuck in the loop and they had each other to lean on, especially in the moments it felt hopeless. 

The romance itself was very sweet (sometimes bittersweet) but also fun. I appreciated that Noelle was very cognizant of consent and fairness when it came to her budding relationship with Cam since he wouldn't remember her each new June 20, even though he had some odd deja vu moments where he'd remember little things about her without realizing. There is some spice but it's when he's fully aware of what's going on and after she's out of the loop.

Which brings me to another thing I enjoyed: the balance between time spent in the loop and what we got to see after. Many time loop stories end once the person escapes but we got to see how she and her friend dealt with what they came back to and how it affected them. And bonus: it's set in Canada (Toronto) and by a Canadian author! I don't believe I've read anything by her before but will definitely keep an eye out now. 
I am definitely glad I randomly requested this ARC, so thank you to Atria for approving it. It's out May 6/25 in multiple formats. 

I really enjoyed this book! Sybil has been lucky her entire life in a lot of ways, which she's thankful for since she's such a mess a lot of the time and people like to remind her she makes bad decisions. One excellent decision was buying a lottery ticket after a night out and then leaving it with a note on the back for the hot donut shop guy she hooked up with. Kieran is running the shop with his sister while their granddad recovers from some health issues, and isn't exactly thrilled when the ticket is a winner and he ends up fake dating Sybil. He went viral in a video trying to find her to give the ticket back, and she wanted to help him with shop bills, etc. but he wouldn't accept it unless he could help her so that's the scheme she came up with. The way these two help each other while falling in love for real is lovely. He believes in her and helps her start to believe in herself, she helps him remember how to have fun and to actually have it. There are ups and downs but their conversations are natural, funny, and sweet throughout. There's undiagnosed ADHD rep, plus fat and BIPOC rep. Overall, it's another great showing from Denise Williams, as usual!

I really enjoyed this book, but it had a different vibe than I anticipated. It's more like some of her other books I've read but I think because it's linked to the Salinger Brothers series I assumed it would feel the same and it didn't. It's a bit more angsty, not quite as light. But it introduced a new small town island setting with a slew of characters I'm excited to learn more about as the series continues. Skylar came to the island because the father she barely knew died and left his bar to her. She's a bit of a rolling stone and assumed she won't stay long but quickly starts falling in love with the town and it's people, including the grumpy business man who planned on buying the bar. He doesn't like her at first but also can't stop thinking about her, and then his little girl Ayda, who can't speak after some trauma, wanders into the empty bar and hangs out with Sky, bringing them all together. Then spicy times occur and she tries to stay detached but he changes his tune quickly and wants more than hookups. There was a custody battle happening, everybody had baggage from past relationships and family that affected things, and it seems like secrets will be a theme since Francie and Asher are next and clearly keeping something from people. 

I have been looking forward to this book ever since it was teased in the first one because as much as I loved the first one (and I did), I knew after hearing just a bit of Angela's story that it would mean a lot to me. She's been figuring out her identity the last few years and knows she's somewhere on the ace spectrum, and she's lonely. She is in her late twenties, never been kissed, never really dated or done anything, and she wants all of that; sex, maybe or maybe not, she isn't sure yet. She's gone viral on tiktok and decides to do a scavenger hunt where the winner will be her first kiss, and the girl she's crushed on forever decides to help her plan it. Krystal is the bartender at Angela's regular hangout spot, and they've been flirty the last five years but as they get to know each other more she learns that Krystal won't ever want a relationship. The closer they get, the more Angela learns about herself and her sexual desires (she very rarely experiences sexual attraction but is sex favorable and open to the idea), the more she wants to kiss Krystal. But she has her followers and herself to think of since she wants to find love and the woman she finds herself falling for doesn't believe in love. 
I really loved this book. It has such a great exploration of different identities and microlabels ace-spec people can have, and I think it does so well acknowledging comphet and how people can go a long time explaining things away because of how they're "supposed to be" before realizing they are queer, ace included. 
I am so glad I got to read an arc of this book (out may 6/25) so that I could share this review in time for release day. So thank you to @forever for the arc, @lenikaufmann for quite possibly the most gorgeous cover, and @gabriellagamez for this beautiful story. Also, I'm excited for what I hope will be the next one based on what was teased at the end!
•fat rep (plus-size love interest)
•BIPOC rep (main character and love interest are Latina, as well as other prominent side characters)
•queer rep (ace-spec, lesbian, bisexual)

I enjoyed this but feel conflicted. If I focus on what it was and not what I expected it to be or how it was marketed, it was well written, emotional, and largely lovely. But there were definitely some things that didn't seem realistic, and there were some things that may unfortunately be realistic for some people in that situation but as an outsider looking in felt like the wrong decisions (lots of these actually). If it was marketed as a family drama through the POV of one daughter and her love interest, as she and her family navigate her mother's progressing early dementia while she has a love story on the side, it would make more sense. It's not a romcom. Not nearly enough com. There were certainly moments of comedy that made me laugh, especially right out the gate, in the typical witty Abby Jimenez style, but largely it felt very different for some reason.

Their actual love story, or the time they were actually together (because long distance) was instalove-y but I was here for it in the way it was done. It felt easy between them which was good because their situations made it hard. Best somewhat disastrous (at times) first date ever. 

But, it felt a little like the dogs in the story were one time plot devices, which seemed out of character for the vet guy. Hank showing up and the reveal about him was so great, though. It was overall a heartbreaking, beautiful story and I enjoyed it, just felt a little disappointed that I had to deal with so much angst and emotion throughout (cuz there was a moment at like 70% in or further that things felt hopeless and pointless for them) when I hadn't expected it. That may also partly be on me for going into things not reading a blurb. 

I have been looking forward to this book throughout the other two as we got to know Bonnie more and noticed her infatuation with Rafe, seemingly town bad boy, mysterious artist extrordinaire. Then the cover was released and oh my word, it is my favorite of the series so far! Tattooed dude and redhead heroine? Sign me up! And then I learned one of the tropes was sex lessons where she's a virgin to start, and with a bit of an age gap as well. Happy to report that it was everything I wanted it to be, plus more since it ended up being that beautiful kind of cozy where the MCs feel at home with each other and so the readers do as well. I loved their banter, especially as she started to assert herself even more. I loved the breadcrumbs for two upcoming books in the series as we got more info on two other Davies siblings and their probable partners (especially something about Peter that I didn't see coming but makes so much sense and I look forward to delving into further). What I loved most, though, was the way Bonnie and Rafe really saw each other for who they really were, flaws and insecurities included, despite everyone else in town having preconceived notions or being stuck on a past version of them. Another excellent showing from Julie Olivia, and my favorite of the series so far, quite possibly of her books in general too. 

I had the same issue with this Megan Quinn book as I have the rest of hers I've read: I wouldn't say I had a bad time reading it, I really enjoyed big chunks of it, but there were enough little things that bugged me to make me think "yeah it was just fine" by the end. The entire premise where a woman is on vacation, she's a wedding planner growing her business and finally took time to go be pampered at a resort in Bora Bora only to run into her brother's best friend, who she's both had a crush on and sincerely loathed at different times throughout her life. He's there for his boss's daughter's wedding week and basically just to suck up so he looks better at a proposal presentation after they get back. The two end up fake dating, sharing a bungalow, pretending to like each other in front of other people while being really annoyed but secretly also fighting attraction and feelings on both sides. It was entertaining, had some really funny, ridiculous moments and some emotional ones (heartbreak, rage, etc.). The main issue in this one is that other than the way he eventually was honest and treated her when he admits his feelings, I didn't like the MMC a lot of the time. He was whiny, clingy, so down on himself all the time, a suckup, etc. and I honestly wondered by the end of she couldn't do better while simultaneously wanting them to work out because they clearly loved each other. Overall pretty meh, and I would probably still read more by the author but will not rush to do so anytime soon.