stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

Mini Audiobook Review: This is officially a Lynn Painter stan account. I absolutely loved listening to this one! Jesse Villinsky once against knocks it out of the part as teen Emilie. I am already looking forward to my next YA one from her. This wasn't as swoony as Betting On You but I still equally enjoyed. This has the Groundhog Day/time loop trope which is something I didn't think I would secretly love. Each day when it repeated was different so it wasn't always exactly the same.

I thought Nick and Emilie were so cute together!!! I love seeing their relationship progess during each loop. I was a little frustrated with Nick because he was very stubborn and was so adamant in not wanting to be in a relationship but you could tell Emilie was peeling back those layers. I thought the conversation Emilie and Josh have in the last part of the book was very mature for the two of them. I mean Emilie acted a little immature leading up to the convo but I totally understand her reason.

If you are looking for a time loop, cute, YA romance - check this out!

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House/Knopf for an advance copy of the book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book will be published in the US on January 30th.

This is my first Dolly book but she has come highly recommended by several friends. I would classify this book as a literary romance. It is not a straightforward romance because there really isn't a romance that has a start, middle and end. We are starting right at the end.

"Why would you choose to fantasize about a woman who doesn't want to be with you? That's not the function of fantasy. Tug yourself to Cleopatra, for God's sake, go wild."
"That's the point, her wanting to be with me is my wildest fantasy right now."

As I mentioned about this book starts at the end of a relationship. I found this to be so refreshing to see not only how does one work through a break up after being with someone for several years but it is told primarily through the MALE's point of view.

I have not been in a break up for several, several years but I found myself relating so much to the actions and thoughts that Andy was doing. You literally have to change everything in your life after a break up. It was so interesting reading Andy’s journey and seeing the male perspective of it. Granted I know that this was written by a female but it really made me wonder, is this what happens to a male’s brain after an end of a relationship? I love that he did have his small group of friends that he would go out with but yet felt relatable that he still felt alone.

I am one of those readers who always want a happily ever after for couples in romances. But in this case, I think both characters were just not good for one another in the end. I just didn't see the two together once I learned about each of them.

I thought it was so smart of Dolly to add at the very end a dedicated space that we got to see Jen's point of view. I was not expecting it at all but I guess I should've when I saw there were two narrators listed. I think having those chapters really helped completing the full circle of the book. I felt like Jen was going through the motions of being in a relationship because she felt like she *had* to be in one. I thought her paragraphs about freezing her eggs was relatable because of those outside societal pressures telling her that is what she should be doing.

One thing that had me itching for more at the end is that this stops in the timeline on January 31, 2020 and both Andy and Jen have these big plans that include traveling but we all know what happens less than 2 months later. SO I really am curious what lies next for the two. Please Dolly give us an update on these characters!! I need to know how they survived the pandemic!

I paired my reading with the audio and I thought Arthur Arvill did a wonderful job as Andy. He sounded like a believable bloke who is a stand up comedian. It felt like a believable narrator. Vanessa Kirby had a short section as the narrator and she is a new name to me. I later found out that she is in fact an actress so of course she did wonderful!

PS – THERE IS KARAOKE!

Memorable Quotes:
”You are locked in a prison of your own nostalgia. You need to let go of the past.”

“It’s like I was off sick from life for a while, and sometimes it’s nice to be off sick. Sometimes it’s nice not be a thing, in the world, trying so desperately to be a person. Here’s what I’m getting at: I don’t know if I really want to move on, because the further away I get from the pain, the further away I get from her.”

“You don't let go once. That's your first mistake. You say goodbye over a lifetime. You might not have thought about her for ten years, then you'll hear a song or you'll walk past somewhere you once went together - something will come to the surface that you'd totally forgotten about. And you say another goodbye. You have to be prepared to let go and let go and let go a thousand times.”

“I tried to remember what I thought my life was going to feel like and without him. I had no idea what this was going to feel like, and it turned out to be just as bad as being in the wrong relationship.

Thank you so much to Mary Warren for providing me an advance copy of this book!

This book will be published on January 23rd.

Mary Warren owns my heart! I just love the character she writes & she continues to wow me!
This is my 2nd hockey romance book and it definitely made me crave to read more. I can totally see why other readers love them!

"If I get a hat trick, you have to come home with me tonight."

My heart went out to Kate who was not expecting Wes to skate into her life and completely consume her. We learn over the book her complicated relationship with hockey and the trauma from her last relationship. There were some moments that I found myself feeling emotional for her because I just felt like I could feel her pain. I have never been an any sort of abusive relationship so I can only imagine the hesitancy in wanting to start something again. I loved Kate's relationship with her twin brother Conner. Though there was some strain with him being in the NHL, you could still tell they are close. Also kudos to Mary for having Kate be a badass hockey player! Absolutely love that!

Wes. Oh Wes. I absolutely loved him and his cocky grin. He made me absolutely swoon throughout this book! The part that is where my quote is from - SWOOOON. There were just so many moments small and big that I just admire him for. There was a moment towards the end that I had been waiting for to happen and when it happened it was perfect. He just was so understanding to her needs and patient. I am also a sucker for text message exchanges so I love seeing their relationship through that lens. He just had this heart of gold and I think even if he hadn't met Bridget, he would have found his way to Kate. He just loved her so much and it was apparent from the very beginning.

"Is this finally happening?"
"Oh, this is fucking happening."

As with her previous books, Mary did not hold back on the spice! And I was here for it each and every time. I love how Kate took control and that Wes just catered to her. The chemistry was just so good!

I have to admit this is the first book where Bridget's involvement felt much more natural compared to the others that I have read. Her meddling felt believable and wasn't just thrown in there. She is everyone's fairy godmother.

I am very excited already for the next one that will be focusing on Kate's brother Conner! Who I think I know who will be the love interest but we shall see if I am correct.

It is such an honor to be apart of Mary's street team. I admire the work she does in promoting books of all genres that have fat/plus size characters. She just knows how to write female plus size characters and in a way that empowers them and not always focus on their size and what they can't do.

Check this book out if you love hockey, small town feel, close family, spicy romance with a plus size fmc!

Mini Audiobook Review: This novella was a book of my romance dream because majority of it has to do with KARAOKE!!!

And not only that, Anita has the FMC sing ONE OF MY FAVORITE CAR KARAOKE SONGS EVER - Eternal Flame by The Bangles!

This was such a sweet novella! It did feel a little rush but I think that is the purpose of a novella is you have to rush through the build up and relationship. But I still felt we got to know Lily & Sam within this time frame. Even with this being a novella, there was definitely spice!

I thought both narrators were great as their characters and I am looking forward to the others in this series!

Memorable quote:
"People had use beautiful to me plenty of times until it almost became this consolatory meaningless thing. This unnecessary reassurance that fat can be beautiful. Like a sunset or a Christmas tree or rainbow. Generic and safe."

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for an advance copy of the audio!

This book will be published on January 23rd.

“Its hard for me to relate when people say things like “I know nothing about pop culture,” “I’m not on social media,” or perhaps the only friendship potential litmus test more effective than someone asking me to run a 5K during the early 2010s themed-race boom: “I don’t own a TV.”

As soon as I saw this cover and title, I knew this book was going to be made for me. I have never heard of Kate Kennedy prior to this but from here or out, I will be a follower! This read more as a memoir about growing up during the millennium. And anyone who knows me personally knows I thrive off nostalgia and being in a tween in the early aughts made me have such an appreciate for the era. And makes me so glad that I kept a journal during that whole time.

As I mentioned above Kate Kennedy is new to me so I was okay learning about her and her background. I thought she was honest in her growing up in the church and how that shaped her and continues to shape her.

The chapter that I was not expecting, and it was much needed was The Parent Trap. This had me crying and sharing snippets with my friend because being a female with fertility issue still feels like a taboo topic. I appreciated her raw honesty as she talks about her miscarriage and then deciding how to proceed. The parts that really got me were "It's not that I'm not happy for people; it's just a feeling you get in your stomach I can only describe as an emotional response with a direct line to my soul that my body reacts to before my mind is patched through." and then again when she talks about "how beautiful your life can be regardless of how whens turn into ifs." It just made my heart hurt but in a familiar way and brought me back to that time when my body was not kind to me.

I highlighted so many parts in this book because it all felt so real. And as a fellow Swiftie, I love picking up on the random Swift lyrics at the end of paragraphs that unless you are a Swiftie you wouldn’t know it. I also never thought I would see a reference to Jungle 2 Jungle but if I am going to read it any book, this would be the one. It just blows my mind at how all teenagers during this time shared such similar experiences (of course AIM and Limewire was mentioned). There was even discussion about popular girl handwriting (which this is 100% true) and milky gel pens (the black paper was just so cool)!

I paired my reading with the audio and the moments I felt where Kate shined is when you could tell she was getting emotional which in turned made me emotional. I felt that it's important to call that out as she was talking about sensitive topics and just made her more human. And you could tell that she talks for a living because her tone and flow of words made her a great narrator.

If you are going into this book as strictly looking for nostalgia & millennial discord, you will get that but also be ready to learn more about Kennedy’s life then and present day. I also think if you love the Barbie movie, you may enjoy it!

**I will not be rating Non Fiction books as it is based on real events and real experiences.**

Mini Audiobook Review: I can definitely tell why so many people loved this book! It definitely kept my attention and I wanted to keep listening.

There was a lot happening in the story - the game itself, Lucy's past, everything with Christopher, Jack's story. And yet somehow things all made sense and didn't get too overwhelming. It almost was at that point but luckily didn't get there. I am not in education but I dabbled in it and I can't imagine seeing some of these children and wanting to give them a better life. Lucy had such a relationship with Christopher that I wanted just the best for them! I thought Lucy's backstory was really interesting and I honestly would love to hear from her parents on their POV. *insert eye emoji*

For a debut author, this was clever & well done!

I definitely recommend this if you are looking for something that gives you the adventure of Wonka/Charlie & the Chocolate Factory but with a smidge of romance and a lot of heart.

Memorable quote:
"Always be quiet when a heart is breaking."

Mini Book Review: Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for the free copy of the book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book will be published on January 23rd.

I am unsure how to rate or write about this book. Prior to this book, I had very limited knowledge about Picasso's personal life and as I started reading, I began googling and looking up the different art he drew based off his lovers.

This had a mix of historical figures but with a fictional twist. Honestly I was much more interested in Alana's storyline especially in the second half of the book. I wish we could have explode more of his relationships with the women instead of just focusing on primarily one and there was another that kind of played a role but only in the beginning and the end.

The writing itself was very beautiful and I could feel like I was in there with them in Europe. And I think the author did a great job with research and turning Picasso's fascinating life into this fictional work.

I paired this book with the audio and I think that is what helped propelled me to keep going with the book. There were three different narrators used and I thought they all did a wonderful job for the point of views of Irene, Alana & Sara.

Also can we get some commotion for the cover?! I am absolutely obsessed with it and I want to know more about it!

Check this book out if you enjoy art, European culture in the early 1900s definitely give this one a read!

Memorable quotes for me:
"After all these years, my pulse continues to race when I look at him. No other man has affected me like this, and I want his pulse to race, too. I want more than the artist's gaze: I want longing."

"Children are so vulnerable. When our sons had died, we thought we would never be able to carry more grief, and there it was, not grief but the fear of it. What if...?"

"Sometimes we reveal more of ourselves when we are in costume. We are freer."

"Pablo Picasso belongs to his art, not his women."

Mini Book Review: I picked this book up after a fellow book friend continuously raved about it and then I started seeing it pop up here and there. I initially started the book on audio but realized rather quickly that I needed the physical and luckily the trusty library had a copy for me (highly recommend reading with a physical copy).

This gave me such a vivid picture of what life was like for soldiers in WW1 and the relationships between soldiers (friendship and romantic). There were two timelines in the beginnings with two 3rd person point of view and told from 1914 to 1918.

I compared to this saga to The Song of Achilles which is one of my favorites. They share parallel stories while also being completely different.

It was just so beautifully written! And I know these characters will stay with me for a while. If you are looking for something different to read and want to dabble in historical fiction - I highly recommend this one!

Two memorable quotes:
"Your father's under scrutiny at the bank because of it...You must enlist,Heinrich. If we have a son in the army, no one will dare say we are not patriotic."

"You should have seen what a state I was in, the first time I heard one of them laugh. It's hard to want to kill someone once you've heard that. I still hear him laugh, sometimes. That first man."

Mini Audiobook Review: I absolutely loved this novella! I thought the build up of the two characters were great. Chloe did a great job creating the workplace tension which made the hook up even better. Were some parts predictable? Of course but I was still excited to see it out on the table and how things all played out. This has all the rom com vibes if you are looking for something quick! This does take place in December but I feel it could be read any time of the year.

"I never want a world without you."

Mini Audiobook Review:  I had heard such great things about this book & I definitely enjoyed it way more than Dating Dr Dil (though I feel like I need to do a reread of it). I like that we got to see some of the same characters from the first book and even played a role towards the end of the book. The tension between Bobbi and Benjamin was so strong so when the spice hit, the SPICE hit. I also am a fan of when we see the texting convos and we got a lot of that in the book. I really appreciated Nisha putting the list of characters in the beginning of the book; I wish more authors would do this where there is a full cast. I know there is another book coming out with Bobbi's friend and I'm looking forward to it! 

Both narrators, Soneela Nankani and Fajer Al-Kaisi did such a great job with the characters! Fajer really made me swoon as Benjamin.