sarahsbookstack's Reviews (2.55k)

Iris is in New York to escape an abusive relationship. She lost her mother pretty recently and she discovers a little gelato shop in Little Italy where her mother met the "love of her life" but returned to it on a promise too late. She slowly is pulled into this wonderful big Italian family through the shop but it's owner is medically not well, his shop is falling and because of how their recipe is kept (only 2 people know it at a time)..Iris's mother gave her that secret and she wanted to return it but in a way that still keeps her promise to her mother.

Iris and Gio. I really loved these two and think they met (more than the bookstore encounter)  at the exact right time for each other to begin healing in all the ways they needed to. Iris-to get over her emotionally abusive ex and the death of her mother. Gio- to learn to be fully happy again after the death of his wife.

There are a couple of big secrets that Iris is  keeping and she may not have gone about hiding them in the most conductive ways but the way that Gio acts when he finds out... Gio still is just a really good guy at heart and took care of Iris so tenderly even if he was initially mad. I love that Santo allowed her to be part of the family at the most perfect time.

This was a heartfelt book that made me feel so comforted in the goodness of people and new beginnings! 

What a cute Romcom from the get go. I loved Junie and AjJs banter and instant chemistry even though they are the exact opposites!

They meet as strangers in a restaurant bar when AJ is meeting his mother who brings along yet another date for him that he doesn't want. He pretends Junie is his girlfriend.... Then later they proceed to meet as app investor and app maker in a contest his company is heading up.

This was just so cute. There are "Pretty Woman" esque vibes and fun supporting characters and will just have you turning pages for the happy ending!

The topic of abuse and the aftermath of learning to trust another person are a huge part of this book, but I thought the topic was handled with the most sensitivity. 

Melanie "Bunny" and Desmond have an interesting relationship.  They've known each other forever, Des is always there for her in the sweetest of ways. He's such a flirt and it takes a LONG time to break through the walls Melanie puts up (rightly after what she went through). I could see right away that he was super patient in showing her little ways to start to trust him.

So I read this and after thinking on it for awhile, I just realized it didn't live up to it's full potential.

What originally pulled me in was the premise of a circus run by Elementals-those with magic.
We get a small scene at the beginning and... That's it. Then a whole chunk of sex scenes between the two MCs. Both MCs had potential too, but we didn't really get to see much of it because of what I just mentioned.
I felt sorry for Raith- how he was created and then treated by his Creator. I felt sorry for Harrow- after all, her whole family was slaughtered when she was so young.

I just expected more of the magic, even though it was simple to understand, I needed it to go deeper than it did.

I was so excited to get back with Ginger, Noah and Jack. I really wanted the reign of terror of Stephen to come to an end. I loathe him! 

This book just had me turning pages! I don't want to reveal much but the 3 MC really go through it. In ways, what happens at the end is so right for two of them but it still broke my heart for the other. What happens isn't an easy situation to have been found in but all do the best they can in the circumstances. 

Perfect to have read the acknowledgements at the end to know that more Windswept Saga is coming in a different time period. 

Cute and quick Christmas read.
Laurel has been lying to her boss, saying she owns a farm and milks goats and is an amazing cook and writes about it for her job. When her boss gets dumped, she accidentally invites him to Christmas Eve Eve at the farm where she'll have to pretend to be her twin (the real owner of the farm) and her niece and nephew are her kids and that she's married... And that's where it's really complicated.. she'll have to pretend to be married to Max, her nemesis.

Wackiness ensues! I laughed at the pretense Laurel has to keep up. The goat scene was one of my favorites. When things unravel, I just couldn't contain my giggles 🤣. What a fun book to end the holiday season!

I've never read a Christmas mystery before and I'm glad it was just a novella. Kind of unmemorable. 

The first half is told through diary entries and the second half through modern day. There are a lot of twists and there's murder... An interesting addition to an idyllic England Christmas celebration. 

This book is a very fast read but I was a bit unsatisfied with the ending. The MC should have given up information way sooner than she did.

Overall this was a good book but I wanted more for a romance. The MMC Sharav was set to be married to another for most of the book. The FMC Samara was a lot of fun. She is loud and has a way of finagling people towards the truth that they might not even see.

I do like the Indian culture we get to see. I didn't like that as soon as the father of Samara leaves for his new job in a new country, she never gets to talk to him because he never answers the phone. 

I just wish the love between the two MCs had more of a chance to bloom. I didn't like the girl he was supposed to marry.. She was just always on a high horse and bugged me!

A big blizzard brings together Becca, a sorority "mom" and Harrison, the football coach next door (who had a date 2 years ago and he ghosted her though they'd see each other around) to weather it together for safety.

Becca is such a bright and sunny character. She marched to the beat of her own drum and made me laugh. Harrison is grumpy to begin with but as soon as you get a whiff of his family... You can understand why!

I love the forced proximity, one bed, grumpy/sunshine, and enemies to lovers... All these tropes worked well together. I flew through this book and didn't "feel" the cold because of what goes on with these two 

Great Victorian mystery/romance with a lot to love!
Charlotte is a force of a woman. She is so very dedicated to being a doctor when women were a minority in that profession. She is so caring of all she comes in contact with. John is a policeman that is trying to live his own life separate from his family. He's very good at what he does and is a shame his father can't see it.

Charlotte has some scary things happen to her, being attacked twice while looking into her mother's death that may have been a murder. The way that John takes care of her is sweet. The way they go from best of friends to love is a delicious slow burn.

This is book 3 of the series of the Hampton cousins and can be read as a standalone but reading books 1 & 2 gives more background to several other characters here.