stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

ReRead via Audio 6/4 - I was anxiously awaiting for my turn on the library hold for the audiobook of this book. And it just reminded me how much I loved this book!  I just love the couple so much and they just made me smile the whole time while listening. Both narrators, Patti Murin and Jon Root were both fabulous as Anna and Liam. Jon's voice had me swooning.  I hope others love this as much as I did & I still think this would be perfect for summer!
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Thank you so much to Gallery Books for the advance copy!

This book will be out  on May 14, 2024.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BOOK!

"If I had to choose between this shower and a date with Harry Styles...I would choose Harry Styles, but I'd hesitate."

Of course I would start off this review with a reference to Harry Styles. This book kept me up way into the night and I just could not put it down. Slow burns are not usually my favorite but this one was an exception. I admit I am not skilled in Christina Lauren books as I should be being a romance reader. And I know they are well loved. So perhaps others might not love this like I did as they could be comparing their prior work. 

I don't read a whole lot of marriage of convenience as usually it is just fake dating/engaged so this was refreshing for me. There were so many moments between Liam & Anna that I highlighted. Their relationship was so fun to see progress throughout the book. The chemistry to me was oozing off the page and LORD when it hit, it was beautiful! I thought the family aspect of this was an interesting part of the book and played a role in their relationship. I love how as much as Liam wanted Anna to conform to his family's lifestyle, he also did not want her to change. I just love how supportive each were to one another.  I just love them so much!! 

I know this review isn't that thoughtful but I just wanted to scream from the rooftop about how much I loved this & I want others to read and hopefully experience the same joy as I did. 

I am looking forward to revisiting this couple when the audiobook comes out!  

If you love opposite attracts, tropical setting, dual POV, lots of flirty talk & family drama- check this book out! 

Mini Book Review: Thank you so much to Colored Pages Book Tour & Macmillan for an advance copy of this book! Thank you so much to Macmillan audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now.

"The best liars, Sade had found, were the ones who were also lying to themselves in some way."

I was super excited to get an early copy of Faridah's follow up to Ace of Spades. The cover alone draws you in.

The first half of this book was incredibly slow and if you are a fan of slow burn in thrillers than perhaps you will love this. But the last 40% is really where it shined. You don't know who to believe and I was not sure where exactly this was going. There were some surprising twists. The romance thrown in at the end just felt like a throwaway and I didn't think was really necessary to the story. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had not been so long. I am glad though everything was wrapped up by the end.

If it wasn't for the audio I think this would have taken me a long time to complete. Unlike with Ace of Spades, this is told from 1 POV. I thought the narrator was Natalie Simpson did a good job with the text. She felt believable as Sade.

This book will make you angry and another tale of rich (likely white) boys who think they can get away with things.
And the angry women who refuse to take their crap.

Thank you so much to Wednesday/St Martin's Press for the advance copy!
Thank you so much to MacMillan for the advance copy of the audio!

This book will be out on March 26th, 2024.

If Sophie Gonzales writes it, I will read it. With that being said this was such a cute YA rom com and thought this was quite different compared to other books by her that I have read. It was so unserious and silly but still had a lot of heart! I like that each chapter were broken up between the past and the present and thought it moved pretty quickly.

Everything always starts with a thunderstorm so when the storm occurred and suddenly the next morning Ivy's favorite character from her favorite tv show comes to life. And not only that but he is in LOVE with her! West Weston was such a fun character and I love how devoted to Ivy he was on that first day. I thought Gonzales was having a good time with his character and you could tell.

"Sometimes, you really just need to say scary truths out loud to someone you trust."

If you are looking for this to be romance centric, this is not it. This definitely is more about the fall of a friendship and trying to rebuild it back together again. What I felt Sophie did a good job with is getting the feeling across at how complicated friendships are especially when you are in high school. They had to work through their issues with one another and had a couple conversations until they came to a resolution. And then Ivy & Mack recognizing that they had feelings for one another in the last bit of the book.

Chapter 13 really hit me in the feels as I know I was the perpetrator in a friendship break up & the guilt that followed from it. Sadly unlike Ivy & Mack, there has been no resolution.

Henry was probably my favorite character in the book. I thought he was so funny and several times I found myself chuckling at the things he was saying.

I thought the narrator Jeremy Carlisle Parker did a great job with all the characters. Her tone and inflections sounded juvenile (not in a bad way) for Ivy's character. She was a new narrator to me and I would listen to her read other books.

While some of Sophie's book gear towards the older YA/New Adult age range, I would say this one is more towards middle school & high school.

I am already looking forward to the next!

If you want a cute, YA book on friendship and a smidge of romance and fan fic focus with lots of representation - check this out!!

Thank you so much to Jen Comfort & Montlake for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be out April 1, 2024.

Holy moly I absolutely loved this book!!! I had heard about Jen's book Midnight Duet on a podcast and she has been on my radar ever since. The buzz around this book started to grow and I was so excited when I got access to it. I highlighted so many moments and quotes. It just was so good!

Teddy and Maxine are polar opposites and somehow they work so well as a couple. I will say it took me awhile for Maxine to grow on me but after their first trip to the library then it all clicked for me. I think had Comfort continued to have Maxine push Teddy's button I may have given up. I mean she still did but it was done differently compared to how it was in the first half of the book. The chemistry just built and built and I love how we knew from the first sentence of the book that he fell first.  Their banter and constant battling was fun to read and I love that by the end they were really working together.

"Are we having a clandestine make-out-sesh? Because I'm suddenly very on board on libraries."

The SPICE. WHEWWWWWWW! What made this stand out compared to other romances I have recently read is where they are being intimate. The situations where the sexual tension just is so strong that it just had to be done right then and there.  Teddy just adored Maxine and took such care of her.  

They both grew with each other throughout the book and brought different sides out to one another. And even with growing within the book, they still also remained true to themselves. There was a moment late into the book where Maxine starts acting out and back to her mean ways and Teddy immediately could tell something was wrong. I felt that was a realistic moment and was not brushed aside or had the MMC play dumb that they weren't intune with their partner (which don't get me wrong, can still happen in relationships).  It just really stood out to me and it made Maxine come to terms with things she was scared of. Bravo!! 

I don't want to give away too much of story as that was part of the fun. But I just love their growth and respect for each other as the book went on. Even with being rivals they both had. the common goal of defeating the ultimate trivia winner Hercules (what a name) and getting a cool $2 million. 

I just absolutely love this book & I think those who read it will have fun and enjoy it as well! 

If you are a fan of trivia, rivals to friends to lovers, dual POV - check this out, you will not be disappointed! 

PS - Kudos to the author for including a quote from one of my favorite movies "Hook" - "You're doing it Peter."

PSS - If you are an Amazon Prime member and haven't picked out your Amazon First Reads for the month of March, consider downloading this book! 

PSSS- There was mention of karaoke but we were robbed from seeing it played out on page! 

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook! 

Sigh. I wanted to love this one so much!! The cover drew me in & I knew this was a highly anticipated 2nd book by Gonzalez. I have not read Olga Dies Dreaming so I wasn't sure what to expect by the style of writing. 

I think my biggest issue wasn't so much the writing style but the narrator who did Anita was a little over the top and made it annoying to listen. Others might find that the narrator provide the passion and anger of what Anita felt but it was just a bit much for me.  The other two narrators were fine with their characters. And I think if you choose to do audio only, I think you would be able to follow without having the text. 

This book had dual timelines (past and present) with 3 point of views - Raquel, Jack & Anita. Raquel and Nick's relationship parallels Anita and Jack and though there is a 10ish year time difference it goes to show how much hasn't changed for female artists. I can only imagine if this was told from 1998 to 2008 I would think that the power of a man would still be an issue. 

I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing. But I had no idea that this book was based off a real life artist Ana Mendieta who fell to her death in the 1980s. Though I don't think knowing that will make me change how I feel about the book but it was just a nice tidbit to have known ahead of time. I likely will check out the movie or mini series with America Ferrera when it debuts. 

This book was not for me but don't listen to me. Many people love this one so please check out other reviews! 

PS - I think the part that really lost me was when Anita suddenly turns into a bat?! Like what?

Women can be heroes. This quote is the theme & sets the tone for the whole book.

I finally popped my Kristin Hannah cherry! I had heard such excellent things about her writing and books and she did not disappoint.

I have so many feelings and thoughts about the book that I do not think I will be able to express clearly. I was gutted by the journey that Frankie went through and how young she was. She had so much happened to her in such a young age. And I can only imagine how many people went through the same thing at that time.

I absolutely LOVE the friendship between Frankie, Barb & Ethel. They had the type of friendship that you only wish you could have as an adult. Anytime something happened to Frankie, no questions, they were there as soon as they could make it there to be by her side. And more importantly there was no judgment and you could tell they were going to be life long friends.

The men in this book. ALL THE MEN with the exception of Henry MADE ME SO INCREDIBLY MAD!
Being woman in today's society is not great but when I read these stories from the past, I just cannot imagine what life was like for us.

There was only one part that made my eyes a little wet at the end but I could see a few moments throughout the book where I could see being super emotional.

I paired my reading with the audio which Queen Julia Whelan did a FABULOUS job with all the characters. Should you decide to do audio only, I do not think there would be any issue with following along.

Highly recommend and I am looking forward to reading her backlist!

Some quotes I loved:
The old white men who run this country are scared. And people do stupid, ugly things when they're scared."

"You deserved to be loved, Frankie. In that forever kind of way. Don't forget that."

Mini Book Review:  "Forgiveness is flimsy. Forgiveness is like a square of warm sun on the carpet. You'd like to curl up in it, feel its temporary comfort-but forgiveness will not change you. Forgiveness will not bring you back."

I understand that we needed the beginning of the book to build the story and the characters but it definitely dragged a little. The book is told from multiple point of views - Lavender (mother), Staffy (detective), Hazel (Ansel's sister in law) and Ansel. The one point of view is told in 2nd person which took some time to get used to. As I reflect on the story, my heart went out to Lavender who did what she thought was best for her family and perhaps things could have been different for all had she re-appeared in their lives in some way. 

I paired my reading with the audio and I think it definitely helped push the story along. I thought the story as a whole was unique and the last 25% of the book was my favorite part. 

It was helpful with having the audio that they did announce each chapter who the character was so if you are doing strictly audio, it would be easier to follow. 

I think if you are a fan of true crime, you would perhaps enjoy reading this! 

Mini Audiobook Review:  I was surprised how quick of a listen this was! I thought this story was well done and just so sad for all the parties involved. You could kind of see where the story was going based on the text which did not deter from reading.  I love how mature Norma was throughout the whole thing.  

My heart broke for her and her siblings and all the time that was loss. I am glad Norma was able to see her brother and got to meet her mother.

I think if you are a fan of literary fiction with dual POV, timelines, and family stories. Definitely check this out! I thought this was also well done via audio. This also could be an emotional read for some. 

Mini Audiobook Review: This book came on my radar after it was picked as a book of the month on a podcast. The idea of it was fascinating and I know as a millenial in the corporate world, I felt like I could relate to a lot of topics in this book. The one that made me laugh the most was the convenience culture. I love anything that is convenient and will sometimes pay more for that convenience. Anything to help save time.  Part of me wishes I did have the physical or ebook to mark certain lines and topics to reference in the future.  It also was comforting to know that the idea of managing time and exhausting yourself is not something that I think about but that its a universal topic. 

I thought this was an enjoyable read and well done via audio. It did feel like it started to drag even while discussing prelevant topics. 

**I do not rate Non Fiction books.**

Thank you so much to the author for the advance copy!

This book will be published on March 20, 2024.


"So, you're serious about me?"
"I'm so fuckin' serious about you."

Once again Sophie has done it again! I am not going to do it justice on how much I enjoyed this book but once I started, it was hard for me to stop. I was forcing myself to take my time and just enjoy it when I read it.

I just get sucked into the way that Sophie writes her characters. They feel like your friends and realistic in their thoughts and actions.

This is the 2nd book in her Single Dads' Club series and this focuses on Liam. A single dad whose baby mama is away in Antarctica which means his busy 3 year old son will be with him full time. He is a professor and author and needs help with his son and the household. He meets with his friends at their local bar to come up with what kind of nanny he wants when this beautiful woman overhears and wants the job. From there Liam was smitten.

Kennedy was such a refreshing FMC for a romance. She is young and still trying to figure out her life. Her sister is overbearing and very protective of her sister which is understandable as Kennedy as epilepsy. Her boyfriend Dean was such a good counteract to her personality. Kennedy has a lot of skills but just didn't know what to do with them. And this position allowed her to pull from all her experiences and was the best nanny Liam could ask for.

"I'd break every rule for you."

There was a scene that I didn't realize would be so sensual until it was happening. Kennedy offers to give Liam a haircut. The mechanics of the head washing and cutting. You could feel the sexual tension between them. It was certainly brewing in that moment. Shortly later there was a moment that was the big turning point for the two that had me so sad for Kennedy but knowing Liam was there to rescue her - gahhh. I do not condone any sort of violence but in the book - this was so hot.
The spice, the spice, THE SPICE. Hot damn the professor has a way in the bedroom that makes you blush. He was so careful with Kennedy and always was asking for her approval.

Despite their age gap, they worked so well together. Even when the 3rd act conflict happened, it all just felt so real and honestly I definitely would've reacted the same way as Liam.

I am not doing this book justice so please read The Rehearsal Fling and then jump into this because you won't regret it!

I love that we got to see all of our favorite single dads! I have missed Dylan and Gen and so I'm glad they are doing well.

Can't wait for the next book in the series!!!