sarahsbookstack's Reviews (2.55k)

A very fast read but not too memorable.

It was more of a character study than anything, I thought. There was an air of mystery surrounding our cast but nothing to me was very shocking. 

Lucy was a complicated person. She did a lot to get into Margot's good graces and it all unravels slowly. Margot, having been through the death of her best childhood friend, was understandably standoffish but I wish she had more of a backbone throughout instead of just at the end.

I did guess one little mystery not too long before it was shown on the page but all it made me think was "huh, that's interesting I guess".

I still think this author's first novel was the best

I was so excited for the premise and imagined the two MCs, Davy and Zoey, working together to rehabilitate (as much as they could a wild animal) a cougar on Davy's private island. I wanted a lot of that.

I got more of a romp between these two than anything having to do with the wild animals. They didn't even know each other long before jumping into bed together. I wish it was more gradual.

That being said, I did like Zoey. She's a little zany but fun. The geese on the island were hilarious, as hilarious as vicious Canadian geese can be.

A funny premise, Lex and Calypso are in the same theater class in college. Calypso likes to blend into the background and Lex is a very  confident guy. He's so much so that he says he'll be the lead of the assigned play and that he wanted to play opposite her.

I loved how Lex drew up a contract to get Calypso to do this. I love how they brought out the best in each other even when there were so many people on the sides trying to dictate their lives. There's a mean girl, father who wants his son (Lex) to be his business heir even when the very thought sickens the son, and a mother (to Calypso) who is so overbearing and looks down on her daughter.

I absolutely love how Lex falls for Calypso. How he takes her to his house to stay when she needs to get away from the toxicity of her Mom. I love how Calypso stood up to Lex's dad and he ended up respecting her. 

Super cute romcom with real character growth, I flew through this amazing story 

This story is told through the eyes of Beth, Ally, and Jordan. 
Beth and Ally, the only girls in their high school's boy soccer team accidentally set a fire that burns down the school gym and Jordan's dad, the janitor, is blamed. 
Now 20 years later when Beth's dad suffers a stroke, she reconnects with Ally in their hometown.

There's not much mystery as we find out early on what happened, but what I loved about this book was how each woman eventually owns up to the truth. It's heartbreaking but also understandable of how the town reacts to the truth. Even though the circumstances are not great, I liked to see these two reconcile.  I also was heartbroken at how Jordan's poor Dad was treated when it couldn't even be totally proven at the time where the fault laid and even more so knowing he's now suffering from Alzheimer's.

I loved that Courtney was coerced 😉 by a fan to make a second road trip book! 

This road trip has Will and Lauren taking their vows a bit at a time on the trip they took where they fell in love. Maddie and Simon are along for the ride and the central characters in this and they have been best friends for years.

This is a fun friends to lovers romance. I loved the discovery that each got into themselves and into their friendship and how their romance might work. I loved how Simon was always there for Maddie through her highs and lows, he was her biggest cheerleader. She helped him come out of his shell a bit and he helped her see her potential in her "hobby" becoming a business. So sweet and utterly enjoyable.

I loved the premise! Rory, while a teen working at a mall, meets a Canadian hockey player Mike Martin, she proceeds to claim him as her Canadian Boyfriend even though they only met briefly twice. She writes him letters she doesn't have anywhere to send and take trips to see said boyfriend. She wants to be seen more than just a ballet dancer.

Then as an adult, she meets him again though she only has inklings that he's the same guy. His daughter is in her dance class and they lost their wife/mother not too long ago.  She is befriended by him and his to live with him to take care of his daughter while he's on the road for hockey.

There is a lot to deal with with these two. Grief and raising a kid alone for him, an eating disorder and toxicity from a parent for her.
But I loved the journey of healing they both go through. I loved the "we can PDA and more while daughter is away but keep it clean while she's around". I was so happy when Rory finally stood up to her Mom. I really laughed at how she always called Mike by his first and last name in her head.

Oh my goodness, I love Sadie and Benedict!

Sadie needs to get away (for reasons) and she goes to her sister's grand opening of a B&B on Oakley Island that she wasn't going to be at originally. Then she runs into her snarky nemesis Benedict. Then to keep her safer, he steals her away on his yacht (not a boat!).

I really liked how they started to fall for each other. Ben is such a sweetie! He takes care of her when she's ill at first, he only had eyes for her when he had to rescue some women he knew in the past, and he let her see behind his "rich boy persona" he shows to the world.

The banter of these two 😍. I also loved how Sadie got along with his yacht crew. The pelican! Oh my heart, the pelican! 

You also get 2 bonus epilogues 😮 and they were perfect. A really great book to end this series, I'm a big fan. 

I loved how raw and honest this book is. It really opens your eyes to the life of a person with chronic illness. How people treat them and how they are accused of "complaining for attention" or not getting the actual help they need from doctors that tell them to "just try yoga, etc to get better" 🙄

First of all, I cannot believe the things that just being rich will get you at a private school... I'm so mad at Pat and his parents! They are all bullies!

I really liked getting to know Brynn and her struggles with her chronic condition that she's been hiding from everyone. I get why she wanted to hide it after her "friend" took advantage of her and was just not supportive at all. It took a while for me to warm up to her mom and sister Eliza, both who don't have the condition Brynn and her father do.  

I wish we had a conclusion of the school board decision but I hope it went in favor of the truth!

I highly recommend reading this in the winter as you will feel every chilling part of this story (grab a blanket and hunker down!). I should not have let this stay on my shelf for so long.

A group of 5 (former) competitive snowboarders meet again 10 years after the supposed death of one of their own. Not quickly realizing, that of the 5, none of them invited the others. Then the "games" begin. Who is here with them and what exactly do they want?

So many secrets to uncover here! I really liked getting into the competitive nature that a lot of athletes seem to have and sucked at the underhanded things they will do to make sure they stay on top. Just when you think you know who is the sinister one here, a flip is switched and I just thought it was a perfect twist to really ramp up the thrills! 

I love the idea of a "Me List"! This was a heartwarming novel which reminded me that we shouldn't judge other's lives when we really don't know what they are going through. 

There are a few frustrating moments interspersed with laugh-out-loud moments and I could relate to Olivia in many ways (except with her relationship to her mother). Patricia could be a handful at times (with a capital H.... After reading, you'll understand!) but when you get a glimpse into her life "behind the scenes" you can't help but acknowledge that she's dealing with her struggles as best as she can.

I really liked that a real friendship developed between the female MCs and I'm super glad Steve (Olivia's husband) changed his mind about Marven, the dog rescue. Marven was adorable.