stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

Mini Audiobook - This had been recommending by a few of my friends on bookstagram and I am so happy I finally have read a Cat Sebastian book! 

I will say I do wish I could go back and read this via physical or ebook. I just didn't jive with the author book narrator. It was very exaggerated. And I think I will have nightmares of the way the narrator says "Andy." 

I love that this took place in the 1950s when you could get arrested for being gay and engaging in any same sex relationship. I did love the relationship that Nick and Andy have and how we saw it develop from friends to "are you or aren't you into me"?  Even though being gay/queer was not accepted, there were characters in this that did accept them which was nice to see. 

Despite the narrator, I really enjoyed the story and just wanted to keep listening to their love story! 

I do recommend this book if you are a fan of male/male historical romance that is set in the Golden Age with a Newsie vibe. 

Bonus: this is my 150th book of the year! holy cow! 

Reread: Mini Audiobook review - This was my first reread of 2024 and I was hoping I would get all those nostalgic feelings again and sure enough I did! This time instead of reading with my eyes, I read with my ears. The author did a great job narrating and I think it only made sense for her to narrate since she based the book off her own diaries. I thought doing the audio told the full story but I think have the physical text with the drawings added to it.

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Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond Tours & Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be published on September 5th.

I am so happy that I got chosen to be apart of a book tour for this book! I had not heard of this author or knew this book existed if it weren't for the tour. This book just took me back to my high school days!!! 

"I dreamed I was overwhelmingly happy. I want to be overwhelmingly happy."

I am a few years older than Phoebe in the book but the feelings of being a plus size teen was all still there. I will say I am quite jealous of Phoebe because she was able to accomplish something I did not - having a HS boyfriend (at least one that was in the same school). I know that author Phoebe took inspiration from her real life diary and the teenage voice came through!   

I also love that even though Wahl acknowledges Phoebe's size and the comments her family would make, it was not a main focal point nor was it drawn out to be a huge plot point. I really appreciated that! Especially with the romance part as a fat teen (and adults) as they are stereotyped as being unlovable.

I kept a journal for many years starting in 1997 until about 2009/2010. I was pretty diligent with keeping up with writing inside but in the later years once technology came into my life and I just stopped writing. I love that I have those stories of good thing and pain from such a formative time for anyone. The way Wahl wrote about Phoebe and her crushes and wondering if boys liked her made me cackle because I know I definitely have journal entries that questioned the same thing. And I can recall conversations with friends of them questioning similar things.

"The life I lead is in my head. The witty conversations I have, the first kiss and dates and losing of virginity, the hookups, breakups, children, husbands, outfits, they're all in my head. "

The format. I had known that this book was graphic novel but when the book arrived & when I downloaded the book on the app I was shocked to see that it was a mixed of drawings and text. The drawings were SO BEAUTIFUL! I absolutely love that we got to see Phoebe's curves and her in vulnerable states.  I would've love the story without the images but the images just added an extra element to the story. I also love when we met all the characters they each got their own littler character drawing. It definitely help to keep everyone straight.

I did love Phoebe as a character and her friend group and how it was co-ed. They always were doing stuff together. And I love the internal monologue of Phoebe regarding her relationship with her friends.  Sam was an interesting character. I kind of understood why Phoebe would spiral (been there many times) at his lack of communication but then he would say something or do something to redeem himself.  And towards the end when he was jealous (rightfully so) of Asher - "I felt bad that I was too out of it and couldn't be the one to drive you home last night" & "I just get afraid that you want to be with someone you know..cooler than me."

I also love how Wahl included signs of the time with the talk of Myspace, mix cds and just teenagers living in the moment with minimal cell phones.  I also love her choice of music that she used. It was not what was deemed "popular" during that time but instead was the indie alt side of music that I know I didn't listen to them but I definitely listen to now. 

I really hope we get a follow up to this diary because I really want to know what is next for Phoebe! 

Bravo! Bravo! 

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press/SMP Romance for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be published on September 5th.

This was one I had heard early buzz and rumblings through the bookstagram world and knew I needed it in my hands. And I believe I had heard that Andie was a bookstagrammer before she became an author. Which as a bookstagrammer that is so awesome to see it become full circle. This was such a solid debut!

"People always joe that their first part of their paychecks goes to the mortgage, but I always joke mine goes to Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts."

Don't let this cover fool you, this book has some definite serious undertones and topics that are scattered from the start to the end. I was not expecting that grief and mourning someone who is alive would be a theme in the book.  The book kicks off with Olive having a panic attack while on a flight to Disney to run in a marathon that she was supposed to do with her brother who is in a vegetated state. While on this fight, a fellow passenger is having a medical episode and she is a nurse and steps in to assist. After the incident, she meets the pilot of her flight - Stella. And let the fun begins! 

I thought the connection between Olive & Stella felt very real and was not rushed. I love that they got to spend time together even prior to Stella propositioning Olive into fake dating her in order for her to get ahead in her role. I thought they really complimented one another. I am not a fan of the trope of how one of the party for whatever reason doesn't think they are worthy of the other person's love or claims they wouldn't make a good partner. Because with fake dating you know what is never the case and that there is always a HEA. I really enjoyed the epilogue and it just made me so happy that Olive got to accomplish a goal of hers and got to do it with Stella.

"And I know you're scared of hurting me, but I'm here to tell you that you are worth that risk."

I don't want to go too much into detail with Olive and her brother Jake but I thought that whole storyline was so sad and just tugged at my heart strings. I just felt so bad for her and she wanted to do right by her brother but her family not recognizing or caring what he wanted. It was very sad and you know that families go through this all the time.

There are multiple villains/unlikeable characters and so many times I wanted to scream because I hated them so much. I was so frustrated for Olive. She was already going through so much which grieving her brother and his state that she got no breathing room between her mother and her ex. The ex definitely came on a little strong and the last incident just seemed like a bit TOO much. It was refreshing to see that Olive and her family's relationship was not cleaned up by the end of the book. In most books whenever there are familial issues, it's usually tied together with a bow by the end of the book. It felt more realistic leaving not be tied up. I also would not blame Olive if she decided to set boundaries and separate herself from her family.

I paired my reading with the audio and thought that the narrator Chelsea Stephens did a great job with the voices for Olive & Stella. This was not a dual POV BUT you could clearly distinguished the two characters. 

As I mentioned in the beginning this was such a solid debut & I'm excited to see what else Andie is working on! 

Swoon: 6/10
Karaoke: YES

Mini Audiobook Review: I was not sure what I was getting myself into with this one but I'm so glad I did! 

I thought the concept for this book was very unique. This had just enough magical realism for my wittle brain. 

I love how as a reader we see what Tommy has to do to prepare himself for each reset every year. I am glad he finally felt comfortable saying something to Cary about it. I wish he had done the same for Josh. Somehow found a way to let him know that he knew him. I kept thinking about 50 First Dates where Adam Sandler makes Drew Barrymore watch a video every morning. The last quarter of the book probably was my favorite.

There was a moment where Tommy reconnects with his father and it was so lovely! I do wish they had another moment or his dad had some sort of realization. 

The audiobook narrator wasn't terrible but wasn't my favorite. I thought they did a pretty decent job with making Tommy vulnerable given his situation.

This was a wonderful debut for the author! Looking forward to seeing what else is there to come.

If you are looking for something that isn't super serious but still has a lot of heart but also has an element of time travel-ish, give this a read! 

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary copy of this!

This book will be published on August 29th.

The 4th and final installment of the American Royals is dropping on Tuesday and I am so sad that this series is coming to an end! I first discovered this series last year when I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy of Rivals and had gone back to read the first two.  I was hooked!!! 

I am going to try my best to give away too much as where would be fun for the future reader. 

It is easy to suspend reality while reading this and how cool it would to have royalty in America.  This book picks up right where the 3rd book left off. 

I thought this book wrapped up all the characters nicely. I was very happy where everyone ends up. 
Even though this is a long audio (clocking in at almost 13 hours), I thought it went by rather quick. I think having the 4 storylines with some of them interconnecting helped with the pacing of the book. 

I really enjoyed seeing how the characters grew throughout this book. Each one of them found themselves in some way. 

With all the excitement with royalty, I think this series would be a lot of fun adapted to screen for a tv show. There is definitely plenty of drama! 

Once again Brittany Pressley knocks it out of the park tackling the 4 point of views. It wouldn't have felt right if anyone else besides her did the narration. 

I am very excited to see where Katharine goes from here and if she will start a new series or do just stand alones? Will she dive into adult romance? So many questions! 

Thank you so much to Sophie Andrews for an advance copy of your book!

This book will be published on September 15th.

"You want to run toward the roar. I want to be alive like fire."

Sophie. How dare you do this to me! I was fortunate to be able to live text the author as I was reading (I was holding back though to not overwhelm her) but my goodness I was internally screaming so much as I was reading!

There was just a way that Andrews wrote these characters that just made me smile. I was away while reading and outside a lot and had to read as fast as possibly because like my internal temperature the temperature of my kindle was overheating (ironic??) so I was forced to take breaks between reading.

Tilly had such tunnel vision for Tyler and had such a goal so when she came up with the plan to break up Tyler and his fiancee Sarah, she did not see Zack coming. And I say that in the sense of, I don't think she ever thought of him as an option when she first asked him to help break the two up (Zack is Sarah's last ex boyfriend).

There were a couple things with Zack that was new to me as a book boyfriend: loaded with tattoos, normal job (plumber) and RIDES A MOTORCYCLE. I never knew I needed a motorcycling book boyfriend in my life. Those moments were always so hot! I don't know how to describe how much I love his character. He made me swoon so much even when he was being his grumpy self.  The way him and Tilly bantered back and forth was *chef's kiss*.  There was a moment where he asks her about her tattoo - holy hannah! One ticket to swoonfest! Also lets not forget when he comes to family dinners.

"I like how strong you think I am."
"Shh. Don't ruin the fantasy."

Even though this is a slow burn, this slow burn was done CORRECTLY. If you keep me swooning until the kiss or deed is done, then you have done it correctly. Another swoony moment was when he goes, "Someone gave me some advice to wear more green." LORD - iykyk. 

I also really loved how Andrews wrote Tilly and Tyler's relationship. We learned their history and how their relationship grew over the years. So when Tyler's attitude and true colors started to show (perhaps she was blind to because of how much she loved him), those blinders came off and she got to see that Tyler was not all what she wanted in a romantic partner. I also love how we saw the beginning of it all, the climax in the middle and then aftermath. Everything came full circle. 

I apologize for rambling and if you think I gave away a lot - wrong! There were still so many moments that I didn't even mention. 

I can't wait to go back to read Sophie's backlist! I just know I will be adding all her men to my book boyfriend list. 

Check out this book if you love My Best Friend's Wedding, Ireland references, great banter - this is for you! 

Swoony: 12/10
Karaoke: Sadly no

Thank you so much to PRH Audio & Berkley Romance for an advance copy of this book!

This book will be published on August 29th.

"You don’t need to make sense to him. You need to make sense to me. And you fucking do."

This is my first Samantha Young book and definitely will not be my last. I absolutely LOVED this book! I was away when I started listening to this and I wanted to keep listening because I was so hooked to the story.

I am also fascinated by how romance authors come up with their meet cutes for their love interest and this one was so unique! Star was working as a character actor and Rafe was a family member at the child's birthday party - like come on!!

There was just something about how different the lives of the two characters were and somehow it worked. Rafe just loved everything about Star and her unconventional way of living and as much as she was proud of that life, she also felt like she was not good enough for him. That was the biggest conflict and I was happy that she did talk to him about it. I just love when we can feel how much the male character feels for the female character. Or taking the gender out of the statement - I just love when we feel when one love interest feelings are SO strong for the other. It just makes me my heart smile so so much. And I felt that with Rafe in how he spoke to Star and his actions.

As like any fake dating, you know what is going to happen so when that moment hits, it hits! I was devouring it all. Rafe came off as such a sexy man and of course he is a veterinarian so that is an added bonus in his hotness. Even though he was the grumpy to her sunshine, it wasn't a grumpy where you were totally put off. Quickly his attitude would change the more they interacted and his anger more was when he was around his family. Spoilerish ahead (view spoiler)

“Because you don’t need any backups. I’m your fucking ‘in case of emergency.’”

I felt like the pacing was great between the meet cute, to the arrangement to the romance and so forth. I was also happy that there really wasn't a 4th quarter conflict. There was a small blip but it wasn't enough to make me angry that it happened.

I also love the side characters even with Rafe's family whom were not the best people. They still brought that angst in the book. I loved Star's friend group!!!

The narration was done by Savannah Peachwood and I thought she did an excellent job with both Star & Rafe. As well as making sure all the side characters shined through as well.

If you are a fan of opposites attract, fake dating, meddling family members - this one is for you!

Swoon: 10/10
Karaoke: Sadly no

Thank you so much to Atria Books for an advance copy of this book! 

This book will be published on September 5th.

"I can hardly see you underneath the mess."

Oh where do I begin. I was really excited to read my first Elena Armas books and I know people have felt one way or another about her writing style and books.

I don't want to be super negative for this review but there were things that just didn't work for me. I know I'm not a fan of slow burn but this was a bit much.

The characters didn't kiss until 3/4 of the way through, then we had to wait more for them to be intimate for the first time and not even a day later there is the conflict which now led them being apart.

It was just too much at once. Cam joked that he was playing the long game but I just wish the long game started earlier and gave more of a tease earlier on then having all the action right in the last quarter of the book.

I also just thought that Armas tried tooo hard to make them enemies. It just felt force and wasn't natural. I haven't read many soccer or sports romances but I already feel the Roy Kent effect has already been overdone. There was a lot of grunting from Cam in this and all I could think of is Roy Kent.  I understand why Adalyn was immature as she was kind of in this rich girl bubble and needed an awakening. But even with that I still found some parts hard to follow and understand? 

"Fuck everyone who has made you feel like you're not worth everything you desire."

Once Cam and Adalyn got together, those sex scenes were so good! I just wish I had more of it! There was a moment where they connected out in a tent and I was just waiting for it to happen and then nothing. And I really thought they complimented well with one another once Adalyn put her angst aside. I just really wish it would've happened sooner at least with the flirting and the gentle touches. Granted I know we got small teases like when Cam was assisting Adalyn with goat yoga and I just wanted more of that! Sorry for repeating myself but I really just needed a tad more. 

One thing that I loved about this book that I kept wanting more of is the conversations with the kids. It made me smile and laugh every time they interacted with the kids. One of my favorite moments came towards the end of the book between Cam and Maria that I thought was so genuine and reminds you that kids are smart and are aware of things. 

I have heard Armas prior books are also slow burns and now I am debating on whether I should go back and read them? Perhaps I will but I am not in any rush at the moment. 

This may not have fully worked for me but that doesn't mean it won't work for you.  If you are a fan of a slow slow burn mix with small town, soccer & forced proximity - this may be for you!

Re-Read #3: Guess who's back again! 
I have done my 3rd read of this book since my first time in May and its still so magical! 
I re-read this in prep for an upcoming in person book club meeting followed by a Q&A with Sarah. 
I still love Millie & Hollis & I still swooned by all the moments.
The banter still made me laugh. 

If you haven't read this yet - get on it!!
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Re-read: Thank you so much to PRH audio for the complimentary audio! 

A month later I have reread this and I still found it absolutely brilliant! 

I did it via audiobook and though Mara Wilson was such a great narrator. 

Millie & Hollis forever 

This has been on my TBR which seems like forever!!! And I finally can check this one off my romance list. 

I thought the concept for this book was very unique and a twist on the meet cute concept. I was shocked that Nick could get away for as long as he did with no one knowing who he was. And Lily helped him pull back those layers for him to want to be out there in the world.  The part with his family seemed a little far fetched but who am I to judge what may cause conflict between family members.  

I did love the relationship that Nick and Lily build throughout the book. And I am glad that at least one of them realized that they knew each other instead of both being in the dark through most of it. Even though its always better to be truthful. And I often wonder how the book would've gone if the secret was exposed right away. 

This book was pretty good in the moment but it wasn't my favorite romance compared to other books I read recently.  I definitely will check out Kristina's next book! 

I thought the audiobook was really well done! There were two narrators for each of the main characters but I also love that they will inter mingle in each "view" which was an added bonus. 

There definitely was more spicy scenes than I was expecting because I thought I read that this was closed door so I was surprised to see some open door moments. 

This book is for you if you are into books about books, email communication and love a dual POV-ish!