lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

So this started out with a perfectly hilarious bit where crabs came out of the bushes and some of them came straight at the wedding party. While Tillie and Gabe started out as a bit of grumpy/sunshine/enemies, once they really started hanging out the enemies was gone, and Gabe’s grumpiness went away. The two of them had such a perfect, meant to be connection that when we got close to the end, and Tillie was going to have to go back to home and the real world, so far away from the tropical paradise island where Gabe lived, I honestly could not figure out how in the world they were going to make it work!

Along the way though, there was the fun times of the two of them working together at Gabe’s little bar in a hut. Now I’m not much of a drinker, but the drinks they were making sounded sooooooooooo good! I’m so glad I got a couple of the recipes for them in the box I got from the author for this month. Although the chocolate layered drink sounded yummy too, and I may have to do some online research for that one. Not that I have any alcohol in my house to try to make it though.

With Tillie being the youngest in her family, seeing how her sisters behaved with her and her “fling” made sense in a way. But it still was irritating, and as I am the oldest sister, I didn’t agree with her sisters, although their reactions somewhat made sense as I said, based on their family background. So Tillie’s reluctance to be able to move or stay there with Gabe made sense in that aspect. But it was also easy to understand why she didn’t want Gabe to leave his own family and world.

Gabe’s background had its own issues of course, and those fit the story perfectly, filling in the puzzle pieces that made these two the perfect couple. What happened at the end that made it possible for the two of them to see a way to be together was something I didn’t think of, and I love that the author used that for the plot. The way Tillie’s sister came to understand and know that she needed to be with Gabe was natural and realistic I thought as well.

Now I’m just looking forward to getting her sister Lila’s story in the next book! 

 This is part of a series of novellas. It was a very quick read, but I’d call it short and sweet. It had some fun characters in the village, as well as some real background issues that Rose had to deal with. I feel like the author handled it all very well for such a short story. It would have some definite insta-love vibes because of how quickly they do fall for each other, but it isn’t totally awkward like it can be sometimes. It works if you just realize the pace is moving as fast as it is and go along with it. Of course I had to pick this one up with my trip to Scotland this past summer and I enjoyed being back in the country! 

 

I had in my calendar this came out in September, but guess it actually came out in August, so I was late on my reading and reviewing. There was a lot of wondering just what was going on, keeping me guessing as I read. The one person I thought it might be betraying the main character, ended up not having anything to do with it really. But there were betrayals I didn’t see coming from his friends, and even family.

The whole aspect of the people getting back at them or having their secrets and holding it over their heads was creepy. It felt a lot like a Scream movie in some ways, good ways, definitely this would make a good scary movie I think. There was a little bit of confusion about the schools for me, two of them so close? Or maybe I misunderstood that. And there were so many different people/suspects added along the way, and even when some were cleared, it didn’t always take the finger pointing to them away.

The ending was perfect, even with things supposedly solved, Sam had all the paranoia and thought processes that made sense for what he’d been through. Definitely a good story, and I’ve added it to my list to purchase for my school library! 

Had some issues with how things were all of a sudden happening really awkwardly IMO and just how the male character was handling things.

I really loved this next addition to the series by this author, her second book that I’ve read. The characters were so lovable, and I LOVED that Marly had two dachshunds! Although when she mentions the first time that she leaves them outside when she’s gone, I was a little upset by that, because large animals could come by and get them! But later in the story she did have the character mention that was something that she was worried about and how they could still go into a safe place when she was gone too. Whew! LOL! Yeah, I do get a bit involved with anything to do with dachshunds. 

As I mentioned the characters were ones that I fell in love with from the start, including their families and friends. And while I’m sure I would probably not enjoy moonshine, all these different flavors sounded yummy and like things I would actually try. I mean I’d probably like the nonalcoholic one she made up for kids at the end of the story. 

Another thing about the story that I liked is that we didn’t have to have the whole break up moment of drama at the end. We got to have a different type of drama, which I really really like when authors do that. All I know is that I’ve got to hurry up and get to the other books by this author that are sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read!

 Now, honestly, I don’t really see that a pet grooming shop in an airport would do that well. But that’s my opinion. Other than that, I really thought this was a cute story. It was short and sweet. I was a little frustrated with the miscommunication at the end, thought she overreacted a little, but I guess based on what had happened to her it made some sense. I would definitely like to read more in this little series! 

The publisher sent me a Netgalley widget to read this in the summer, and I decided to give it a chance as I’ve been reading more historical romance thanks to some of the newer SmartyPants Romance titles. I read more when I was younger, and I definitely enjoyed this one! The science bits were fun with my background as a science teacher. I like how at the end of the book the author noted that some of the science in the book was based on a real historical figure. It was easy to see how the two main characters, Elizabeth or Bitsy, and Michael, were opposites, but that was perfect to show how opposites attract and are often perfect to balance each other out.

The dogs were fun too, as a dog lover I was definitely feeling all the feels along with Bitsy when her beloved Galahad was kidnapped and with his past experience as well. If only she had completely trusted Galahad’s opinion of her most fervent suitor earlier, and not encouraged him at all, maybe things could have been prevented. However that wouldn’t have led to the fun meet-cute for Bitsy and Micheal when their two dogs collided and got confused in the crazy aftermath.

One aspect of the story that I really liked also, was the secondary characters, Jimmy Bly the dognapper, and his neighbor Sally, who I kind of fell in love with their story as well. I love how their own romance filled in as the story progressed, giving us love at both ends of the spectrum with our duke and diamond of the season alongside a dognapper and entertainer. Also the butlers and other people working in the houses added so much humor in their own respects and it was nice to see that as well. Elizabeth’s parents while totally proper ton people, had her best interests at heart, and wanted only to see their daughter happy in whatever way was going to happen.

A wonderful story and I hope to read more by this author in the future!

 So I read some reviews where people had issues with this because they just couldn’t connect with the main character, Maybell. But I totally did. All of her daydreaming reminded me of how I have certain scenarios that I will insert myself into when I go to bed in the hopes that my dreams will take over and stay there. Unfortunately while I do have very vivid dreams that I usually remember a lot of, they don’t really join into where my awake brain has tried to direct them. But it was more than just her daydreams, her not knowing if someone was flirting or just being nice, her going ahead and doing what someone else wants, her not being able to go have a Pretty Woman quitting moment like she’d dreamt of. I’ve also always shied away from shy guys, because being shy myself, I figured things would never work. But this whole situation made me rethink my stance on that a little, as I adored Wesley. I did have a few issues though. Like, they had to have left the house once in a while to get cleaning supplies, food, etc., but it totally stood out that nothing about that was mentioned. Like when she said she hadn’t had any human interaction for days because Wesley wasn’t talking to her, um, food? Where was all the stuff they needed? Also, how in the world did they have money to fly to Scotland? No offense, but I know just how expensive that is, and she mentioned not having any money at one point I thought? Overall though, I really liked it. Even found a quote that I think fits me almost perfectly: “My determination exceeds my talent.” 

Of course I was so excited to find out about how the “quiet” twin’s HEA was going to happen, especially after his brother had been pretending to be him in the last book. So getting Drew’s point of view and his story was something I was glad for. This was a secret/surprise baby story, but with even a bit more of a surprise/turn of events at the end. I liked the way the author had the whole story play out.

The crush that Tess had on Drew and all her diary entries were a lot of fun to kind of relive interspersed with how the present day was going. There was also a similar bit of drama to the first two books, but it wasn’t the end dramatic issue to overcome, so that was good. But it also showed how similar the brothers in this series lives were. I feel like the kind of back and forth the two went through on how much the other one liked them was more realistic seeming than in other books, so I liked that a lot.

Even with the kind of drama this story had, it was a low drama story in my opinion, which I did enjoy. Even though I know our Coulter brothers are all partnered up now, I feel like there has to be an extra epilogue or bonus story for at least this couple according to something written on the last page of this one. Now I’m left wondering what characters, what world, Sara Ney will bring to us next! 

This one started out not great for me. I struggled to get through it, even with some of the really good parts to it. While the story itself was interesting, and the characters were likable for the most part, I just struggled for some reason moving through it quickly. I did really enjoy the little group meetings they had every Friday night and the funny “minutes” they took at each meeting. The banter and snarky conversations also kept me going throughout the story as well. Liyah’s experience her freshman year of college is very similar to what mine was, and actually I was pleasantly surprised to hear that her reaction/coping mechanism was also similar to how I think I dealt with my own experience.

I just strugged a lot I think with the back and forth of their issues about the other one not really being interested. I feel like how hateful Liyah was to Daniel was a little over the top for what it was about, especially after he apologized to her. Even with knowing what part of her trauma was, it still was a little more than I felt was necessary.

There was a lot of good to the story though, great humor, friends, situations, and I loved all the parts about Chicago and of course the Field Museum where I set one of the first novels I attempted to write myself. So I think if it sounds like one you’d be interested in, you should give it a try, but if it doesn’t, then you might pass for now and come back when you have more time to fit it in.