If you’re looking for a totally charming and sweet romance to add to your TBR I’ve got you, because this was adorable. It’s a second chance romance with a single dad and a small town setting, gimme all the tropes please! I would say this is a slower burn as far as the romance goes, Sandy and Hank both have to work through some stuff before they’re ready to give each other another chance and I enjoyed their path back to each other wholeheartedly. Secondary to the romance is the small town setting but man was it cute. The residents were quirky, meddling and hilarious and added so much charm to an already charming story. There are also big summer vibes and lots of nostalgia as Sandy spends time thinking about her and Hank’s high school relationship. I loved the towns annual street fair too and the strong sense of community among the members of this little Ohio town. Overall a great summer read if you want light and breezy.

This was a super cute take on the movie Liar Liar with a dash of something magical. Lucy wakes up on the morning of her thirtieth birthday and realizes she physically cannot lie at all. It’s a rude awakening when she sees just how much she lies to herself, her friends and her coworkers every single day. Being forced to be honest with herself has her rethinking so many aspects of her life and the results are surprisingly empowering. 

This was one of those easy and lighthearted reads that made for a great escape. It’s women fiction with a small side of romance, definitely more about Lucy personally and her journey to figuring out what she honestly wants and needs. I’m on a Brittany Pressley roll lately and she is always just a joy to listen to! Grab this if you want a fast and light read.

If you like character driven stories about families this one was really good! It was such a unique look at what makes a family a family told over the course of one blended  family vacation. The insights into motherhood were oftentimes spot on and fascinating, the author took a look at the darker side of parenting through the eyes of three flawed and relatable women. Their family dynamics were messy and dramatic and totally fun to read about. It’s also narrated by Brittany Pressley who I adore so the audio version is super engaging. Overall a vulnerable, messy and entertaining read. 

Do you ever finish a book and think, WTF did I just read? That’s me with this one. I don’t even really know how to explain it honestly. It’s bonkers, weird, oddly kinda funny and dark. Sedona is less than an hour from where I live, I’m very familiar with the town and I even got engaged there. I never see Arizona as a setting in books so that aspect was really fun for me and I did laugh at the way the author poked fun at the health and wellness culture that is huge there. I think if you don’t take this seriously at all it could be campy fun, there are chapters from a group of ravens perspective and while I found that super weird, maybe others would be into it. It was definitely unique and unlike anything I’ve read before, but there was something disjointed about the style and formatting that didn’t work for me. Lots of jumping back and forth but not in a clear, smooth manner. Im dying to see what other think though so please let me know if you’ve read this or plan too? ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have a strange relationship with the author, I’ve absolutely loved some of her books, thought a couple were just alright and then I skipped a couple because things have been so hit or miss for me. So going into this one I had no idea what I would think, and having finished it I would say it was middle of the road for me. 

I do like the authors writing style and appreciate her ability to slowly  unravel and tell a story but slow isn’t always a winner for me. For me to really enjoy a slow burn I need it to payoff in a big way in the end and I wasn’t blown away here. I did enjoy the academic setting and I always like an old case being revisited though, so there were definitely aspects I liked. I think the beginning was stronger for me than the middle to end, seriously why was this so long?? But overall I would say this was fine, just not enough true tension and suspense for me to be sold. I did listen to most of this and I adore Imogen Church and she gave another great performance so if you’re a listener go that route. 

If you like romances with a hint of magic this was pretty dang adorable. 

This is the second book by the author and she has a knack for writing strong and admirable heroines. Paired with the whimsy of the storyline this was a sweet read. It did have one of my least favorite tropes, stop reading if you don’t want to know…. 

But there was a love triangle and ugh I really and truly always struggle with that one and I didn’t love it here. This could’ve been a five star read for me besides that aspect, it really was a cute one, but I wish I had known about the love triangle ahead of time so I’m sharing just in case you’re like me. If that doesn’t bother you though this was a charming one. 

I really enjoyed the fresh concept here, I’ve not read many books about magicians and definitely not many about one that disappears, and NOT as part of their act. So this one had me interested before I even started listening and it kept me engaged initially, but my interest waned as things progressed. Let me back up and speak to the audio version because it was really outstanding. You have a full cast narrating and since there are podcast episodes those were really well done. I think this format on audio really served to reel me in and as my lack of interest in the plot itself continued to decrease, I was so impressed by the narrators performances I felt like I had ti keep listening. In the end I struggled with wanting more, I was left feeling unsatisfied and that’s never the way I want to feel when I finish a book. So overall mixed feeling here, if you decide to try this yourself I highly recommend going the audio route!

Who else was obsessed with Gossip Girl? I devoured that series back in the day and loved how addictive and scandalous they were. This one gave me those same vibes and I now have a brand new series to obsess over. 

There was so much drama with these characters, I was basically hooked after one chapter. Think naughty rich kids who are always trying to stir up trouble, is there anything more entertaining than wealthy people behaving badly? This was equal parts sexy and fun, I loved the witty banter between RJ and Sloane but the relationship between the guys was hilarious, I couldn’t get enough. And while things were resolved with most storylines here there is so much I still need to know so I’ll be desperately waiting for the next book in the series, this one was just so so good!

Julia Whelan is one of my very favorite audiobook narrators, she’s SO good and if I see she’s narrating a book I’m on the fence about, I immediately add it to my TBR when her name pops up. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from her as an author and y’all, she blew my mind! This was such a fantastic romance, it had everything that matters to me and more and will surely be in my top reads of the year list come December. 

There was something so playful about this one, there is a lot of talk about various romance tropes and there some fun, witty and sarcastic commentary surrounding the genre as a whole. I fell in love with Sewanee and found her to be charming, hilarious and totally genuine. There is one whole section that is epistolary and seeing as that format is one of my absolute favorites I was happy!! I adored every single page of this one although I never do rereads I’ll be listening to this one in the future. 

David Bell has been one of my go to thriller authors for years now so I’m always excited when he has a new book out. He consistently writes books that are compelling, twisty and entertaining. Unfortunately I struggled with this one, it just didn’t feel like the type of solid book I’m used to from the author. 

I think my biggest issue here was I didn’t believe in any aspect. I didn’t buy that a group of people locked inside a house would just stay when someone drops freaking dead and it just went on from there. I usually like a locked room style mystery but the reason for them being locked up just didn’t make sense or work for me. It’s hard to describe my frustration without giving you much away, so I’ll stop here and just say I’m still a fan of the author and I’ll be looking forward to his next book but this was a miss for me.