Ohhh another winner for me early in the new year! When I start the year off reading amazing books right from the jump I get so giddily excited about what books are still to come. If you like Emily Henry this had a similar feel to it for me with mature characters and depth of plot, also maybe because of the two main characters as authors too now that I think about it. 🤔 The characterization is where this one shines, Nathan and Katrina were both complicated and also in complicated situations throughout both the flashbacks and present day, very multilayered and deep. This was a super slow burn (almost frustratingly so) but I see the authors purpose with that too. It was angsty but not in an annoying way and also desperately romantic with gorgeous writing and some forced proximity. A super well rounded romance and I’ll definitely be waiting for more from this duo!

This is my third Emma Lord book and now it’s a firm fact for me, when I want an absolutely adorable book that will make me laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy the author will deliver. The premise was both interesting and it tugged at my heartstrings too, Millie’s search for her birth mom made my own parental heart ache, both for her and her unknown mom. Millie wormed her way into my heart immediately, she’s larger than life, over the top and dramatic which made her so endearing to me, I really wanted to mother her myself. As much as I adored her the rest of the characters were all amazing as well, such a well rounded and fun cast. Add in Millie’s absolute love and obsession of all things musical theater and she was just the quirkiest most lovable heroine I’ve met in a long time. Just a really fun and entertaining read and such a bright start to my new year!

This was bananas y’all. I’m not even sure what to say here honestly. It started out ok, (besides that bizarre prologue) and by 25 percent or so I was decently invested. I liked the creepy atmosphere and I liked Emma for the most part even though I felt like she was naive as to what was going on, but I was still interested. And then around 75 percent I was totally reeled back in again so basically lots of up and downs here. Parts were oddly compelling and parts were totally boring. By the time I got to the second to last chapter I was like ok this may be a 3.5-4 and then there was a totally unnecessary final chapter with a terrible twist that annoyed me SO bad and made me really dislike the book. Super disappointing and made me mad I even read it because it did have potential and a unique aspect that worked but there was just too much up and down for me to let it go.

Well this was absolutely adorable!! I know I’m always in for a treat when I read an LL book, she always nails the NYC setting and brings it to life and has the cutest romantic encounters that are sure to make you smile. Opposites attract is always a fun trope for me and there was an enemies to lovers vibe too AND some sunshine and grump energy so lots to love here. It was a slow burn low on the heat but I didn’t care because Violet and Cain still had great chemistry and the authors trademark witty banter, such a must for me and this delivered. If you’re a fan of the authors Central Park Pact series this has a similar feel to it so definitely check it out! And if you haven’t read that series yet I definitely recommend it as well as this one for a delightful and charming romance.

I really liked the premise of this one, anything with a possible creepy kid appeals to me in a weird way and then throw in a mother who is fragile and it leaves you with a whole lot of questions and head scratching moments. This one was unsettling and slightly sinister and despite some minor issues I can see how it would appeal to many.

What worked for me was the great sense of place the author created, it was atmospheric and there were a few times where I got goosebumps because of the great scene she set. Wondering if Cody really met someone in the park or if he was just using his imagination kept me on my toes but it did feel kinda draggy at times. This was definitely a slow burn and I lost my patience with the pacing a few times. It had so much potential for me at the start and then things didn’t really pick up for me until the very end and that just wasn’t quite enough for me to truly enjoy this one. It didn’t feel like a true thriller, maybe a domestic drama with some suspenseful moments? But definitely not an exciting and fast paced thriller for me. If you enjoy a well written, atmospheric light style suspense novel you’ll like this more than I did. 

This is the third and final book in the Hot and Hammered series, and now that I’ve read the entire trilogy I can definitely recommend them as a whole. The second book is my fave followed by this one and then the first. Just wanted to tell you guys that because before I start a series that’s already out I like to know if the whole thing is worth it!

This one follows Bethany and Wes as she begins to flip houses on her own without the help of her family company. You have a hot cowboy, a reality TV show and a single dad trope. For me, some of my favorite things/tropes so I was alllllll in. Bethany and Wes have great chemistry and an enemies to lovers thing going on with fun banter and sharp wit. This one is steamy but it takes awhile to heat up, wait was worth it for me though! Definitely recommend reading this series in order as the characters all overlap from book to book and I think you’ll get more out of it that way.

Last year the first book in this series, Well Met was one of my favorite reads of the year, so to say that I was anxious to get my hands on this book is a huge understatement. I had very high hopes for this one and maybe that’s why I’m sitting here disappointed, but this one wasn’t nearly as good as the first and I’m super bummed about it.

I want to be clear that this wasn’t bad by any means, it just wasn’t as magical and charming as the first book and I can’t help but compare the two. The author is a great writer and I loved being back at the Faire with the characters from the first book but it was missing that something special from the first book for me. I think a big part of my problem was that I feel like the blurb and cover are a spoiler. It seems like the author wanted this air of mystery about who Stacey was chatting with online but the cover/blurb makes it painfully obvious so I spent the first half of the book already knowing what would happen which made me annoyed and impatient to get it over with. The romance was cute, the plot was fine but I just wanted so much more after loving WM so very much. I’ll be reading the next book in the series in the hopes that it’ll be more like book one, but if you’re like me and have been waiting for this one maybe just lower your expectations a bit and maybe you’ll like it more than I did?