sarahsbookstack's Reviews (2.55k)

Grant is truly grumpy but he brings a smile to your face the whole time reading this story (or just me...I couldn't stop grinning!) I LOVE how he is with his daughter Fiona.... She is sunshine and light. She is the only one who can get a smile out of Grant.... Until eventually Jayme weasels her way in. 

Jayme is a fantasy romance author and she just might (ok she does) have some new inspiration for her book she's trying to get traditionally published. I love her optimism and the way she can just goad Grant enough to keep upping that smile for her. She was such a great tutor for Fiona. I love how these two girls just clicked right away. 

Of course the town is a big part of why I love these books. Ella Mae just had me rolling on the floor laughing with her ideas to get Jayme (per her agent's request) to get her socials growing....I can't wait to get to her book.... what kind of man she can snag that will put up with her ways. Cooter....OMG, he was so funny in the scenes he was in.

Great fake dating book with amazing Black characters, one is an astronaut for NASA (yay for STEM rep!)

Amerie and Vincent meet in a coffee shop and since she spilled coffee on him, it doesn't go well. Then they meet there again, but this time her ex is there with a new woman on his arm and she grabs Vincent and says he's her man. So the fake dating and fun begins!

I thought Vincent was so sweet to let Amerie move in with him to keep this facade up and to help her with tough things she's going through (rent hikes so high she can no longer afford her place because she also got fired). I hated that they fired her, she gave so much to that company. But I'm glad it got her to open her own business.

This is a sweet romance so no spice but it's still swoony anyway

I'm so glad to finally be reading this series! 
This world is fascinating, broody, bloody, torturous, icky, and so many more adjectives I could name.

I appreciate the two perspectives of Laia and Elias. 
Laia lost most of her family and she vowed she will get her brother out of prison so she doesn't lose him too. She turns to The Resistance for help and they send her to spy on Blackcliff Military Academy in exchange for getting her brother out. She becomes a slave.

Elias is an interesting character. His "mother" is Commandant at the school and she is RUTHLESS in every way. He was brought up by desert dwellers and wants nothing to do with her or this place. Then he was forced to participate in 4 Trials to become a new emperor and do things he doesn't want to do. 

I was so immersed in this world! The ending part is so heart pumping and really ramps up the feeling of terror and hopelessness. I can't wait to get to book 2

A very quick read that pulls you right into the lives of a group of women/new moms who display their perfections (at least on social media) to the world.

Claire is struggling to find a career after her band dumps her and they become famous. Then she's contacted to be the singer for a mom's playgroup and soon she's pulled into a dangerous game full of secrets and it can be the undoing of these "perfect women".

Definitely can see the hurt that can come from trying to only show people your perfect side.

As always, a feel good story with a bit of mystery for a perfect summer day of reading. (Yes I read this in a day!)

I love the two timelines. One is Keaton who is tasked by her mom and Uncle to go to get their childhood home ready to sell. They haven't been able to step in it since their parents' deaths. The other timeline is of their parents/Keaton's grandparents. We see their one of a kind beautiful love story (kind of like The Notebook) through a journal of Townsend and a how to throw dinner parties instruction manual/recipe book of Becks.

I adored a lot about this book. The Dockhouse Dames, Anderson and Bowen and how they wove into Keaton's life, the summer feel, the mystery to solve... Just another amazing KWH book!

Be sure to read her author's note as it's very important and personal. 

I liked that this was a dark academia, queer, Groundhog Day esque book now I felt it was maybe a little longer than it could have been. 

4 girls get stuck in a time loop to go back to the memories of the day a girl disappeared. These 4 fought tooth and nail for quite a long time at not wanting to relieve their memories and have the other see their shame from what they did/didn't do that night. The way they were pulled back to the beginning of each memory, I would have just gotten over my fear and got it done. 

It took them SUPER long to figure out what REALLY would get them out of the time loop. I got a bit bored of their bickering and their secrets. Once they finally break out, there are improvements to what the school was and stood for and I did like that.  

Melissa sure knows how to write gut wrenching, heart breaking, but beautiful stories. Might need tissues for the end!

Mack, Brandi, and Sy will stay with me for a long time. The love that Brandi has for her brother that hardly knows her and what she does to get him out of their mom's drug filled, abusive household... Even when it breaks the law, is brave. Mack, with his slowly dying wife Daisy, from both cancer and Alzheimer's.... He also tries to do his best for her in the wrong way but he felt it was the only way. 

These characters will worm their way into your heart and never let you go. Such beautiful writing. 

A romance readers dream read- hockey romcom, bookstore, tropes, guy falls first, best friend's brother, getting someone new to read, and much more! 

It was so fun to see (what's probably a dream for a lot of book readers) 3 friends who meet through Bookstagram, opening up a romance book store together.  I love how they all read romance but view romance IRL differently. 

Hayley is a girl who just knows what she does and does not want.... And she doesn't want the attention of Maxime ... Her friend's NFL playing brother. But Max is relentless in his pursuit because he's never met anyone like Hayley and she intrigues him. 

The way she gets him to start reading and ROMANCE at that is too perfect 😍. This book will be a warmth to your heart ❤️

This was a great (mostly) and a hard (TW- bullying from kids and adults and alcoholism in a teen, plus a fire related attack) read that I absolutely flew through and loved Even when my heart was breaking.

Evvie is a neurodivergent teen who's a senior in high school. After not being able to attend for over a year, she combined her sophomore and junior years to catch up. She has to deal with a teacher bully who will not bend towards the way that Evvie learns. She has to see a fellow ND new injured in a horrific way but when she stands up for it to those in "power"....chills! It's a powerful thing that she does. 

I was so extremely mad at this teacher, the principal and their relative (like a great grandnephew or something) teen who is the bringer of harm. My absolute favorite part of this was the LAIR and the teacher Rachel who implemented it. The LAIR let kids whose brains work in different ways take a break/reset there and I think all school need a place like this. 

And Aretha- the blue day octopus that Evvie spends her time volunteering with 🤩🫶 love! I'm glad she got close to Blue (real name Hugh) while working there too and that their brains worked in different ways from each other even but they still found ways to form a relationship that better was aiming for previously.