stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

I believed all my book friends when they said this was better than Delilah Green. I absolutely loved this one!!! I didn't care much for Astrid in the first book but I knew she would be a great female MC once I had learned that she was getting her own book.  We got a taste of her in the first book as she called off her wedding. A year later Astrid got the opportunity to be part of a renovation of an old Inn that will be the focus of a tv show, she took it.  It is there she meets Jordan, granddaughter of the owner of the Inn and the head carpenter of the project. 

I love the development of both characters from the start of the book until the end and how their feelings developed over time. And man when they get together, bam! Blake does such a great job with her love scenes. I thought that even with Delilah Green and this was no exception. It was such an entertaining listen and I thought it went really quick. 

I am looking forward to the next book in the series as Iris is such a fun character! And we definitely got a sense of what she is going to bring in her book between book 1 and 2. 

I am not sure why Bookstagram did not like this book? Was it my favorite Tessa book? No but I don't think it should've gotten such harsh reviews.  

I loved how Hallie and Julien knew each other once upon a time and they have a moment to reconnect. I mean it could be just me but its very very rare of me forgetting people that I had once known in the past but for Julien, Hallie did not look familiar and took him a bit to realize he knew her. 

I love that Hallie had some curves to her (as displayed on the cover) and it was something that Julien loved about her. Hallie was too nervous to admit to Julien that they almost shared a kiss when they were younger so she thought she would start living him love notes to find along the path he ran. Julien then began to fall for the author of the note while developing feelings for the gardener, obviously not realizing it was the same person. 

This is such an odd thing to compare this book to but there is an old episode of The Wonder Years where all the Arnold men would stare at their next door neighbor while she gardened. Perhaps Tessa was doing a binge watch of the old series?! 

I am excited for the next book in the series which will follow Natalie, Julien's sister who was quite the character in this! 

Holy moly. This was a SPICYYYYYY read! This book has been on my radar since it came out last spring. After it was chosen as a book club book, I finally had a reason to push myself to read it (sad that I missed the discussion).  I had originally rated this book a 4 but now that I am only 11 days removed from reading it, I cannot remember much about it besides it being spicy and that they had fake dated to a marriage of convenience. It just hasn't stuck with me compared to other romances that I have read. From what I can remember, I remember giggling at some of the dialogue between the characters and having South Asian cultures being woven through the book. 

With that being said, I am happy I read it and will be reading the next book in the series. 

Thank you so much to Forever Pub for an advance copy of this!
Thank you so much to Libro.Fm for the complimentary audio!

I have kept seeing early buzz for this mid summer release and was super excited when I got approved for this.
If you love weddings, second chance romance, grumpy/sunshine, dual timelines - this is your book!

"Marriages will never be perfect. They're always a work in progress."

Ama Torres is a wedding planner who has a vision and a passion for crafting the perfect wedding for all the couples that come her way. She is involved from the very beginning and executing what clients want. She worked under a very esteem wedding planner Whitney Harrison and learned all about the business until she branched out on her own. Ama didn't really grow up with the best example of a "perfect" marriage as her mother had been married more times than one person should but hey to each their own. But seeing her mother float in and out of relationships makes Ama not want to be committed. Enter Jude. Jude works at a local flower business that was started by his father. They would run in the same circles and same weddings and one night, one kiss changed it all. There was a conflict that arose that broke them apart and as you read you piece together what happened to make them become enemies and why they are forced to work back together like old times.

This was told from dual POVs and dual perspectives which I thought was very interesting. Ama's POV was told in the present whereas Jude's was told from the past. Jude is the epitome of a grumpy character. He was moody and man of a few words right from the start which made me intrigued. Ama was sweet, ray of sunshine who also was such a boss and in control. I really respected her and the business that she built from scratch. Always catering to her clients over her own needs.

The spice in this was whewww! I was not expecting it! It was crafted so well and definitely made me blush. I had also paired this with the audio (courtesy of Libro fm) and Teddy Hamilton can do no wrong when it comes to narration. He was the perfect narrator to get the tone of Jude across.

My only critique was I wish we could've gotten some of Jude in the present time and I wish we got more from the ending once they reconnected. I just loved them together and selfishly wanted more and more.

Bravo to Julie Soto for a stellar debut!

One of my favorite quotes from this book was from Jude early on when talking about how flowers were better than people: "They only need light, water and attention. But it's not as simple as that. Because you need to know how much light, how much water, how much attention. But if you can get it right - if you can crack the code - flowers are infinitely better than people. Because you can find a person's ratio of light, water and attention and it still won't be enough. For flowers, it's enough."

4.5 

If you are in the Bookstagram community and follow romance accounts, you likely saw this book! It was inescapable and you don't need to pull my arm to follow buzzy books. 

I have never read a Kate Clayborn book before but I have seen her book covers and knew of her. But there was something about this book that when it came out, it spoke very loudly among the readers. 

I will admit that I did not get the appeal for the first maybe 40%. I messaged friends saying I'm not getting appeal? Do I stop? Do I keep going? Well I am glad I continued because there was a shift almost halfway through and suddenly I was invested and didn't want to stop. 

"I don't want to be in this town, where people know me as a flake, a failure."

Georgie is trying to figure out her new life after her personal assistant job ended when the producer decided to live a normal life. She heads back home which is also timely to her best friend's upcoming baby arrival. Once she arrives to her old home, she realizes she is not alone. Her parents double booked the house - enter Levi Fanning.  The relationship is strictly roommates but seeing both perspective we know that they definitely want more but don't know how to approach it. 

The tension between the two was so strong and I just kept waiting for the moves to be made. Clayborn kept teasing the reader and it just kept me wanting to read more. The turning point for me came when Levi decided to help Georgie fulfill old ideas and bucket list tasks that Georgie came up with prior to entering high school. Oh and I forgot to mention, Levi is Georgie's former high school crush Evan's older brother - yikes! 

"I'll love you if you want to leave your stuff all over the place, wherever you're living. I just hope I'm living there with you." 

I just love the connection that Georgie and Levi had and seeing him open up to her. Having Levi's perspective was such a joy and I always love seeing what is happening in the male perspective. Also I absolutely loved his relationship with his dog Hank!!! It made him 100xs more attractive. 

There is also a wonderful friendship storyline with Georgie and her best friend Bel. Georgie helping Bel prepare for her new baby and both just kind of figuring out how to be an adult and what they want. 

If you are looking for a very sweet, romantic love story that also has friendship and family drama - check this one out! 

This was such a fun listen!!! I love the fact that the author broke the 4th wall (at least via audiobook it felt like it was). The narrator was absolutely wonderful and really made this story come to life. It was such a clever book. I believe this was picked up to be adapted to screen which I think would be excellent. My only critique is that there were a lot of characters and via audio it was hard to keep track who was who because you guessed it - everyone killed someone! 

Audiobook: This was such a quick listen. 

I thought the pacing especially in the first half was really quick and flowed nicely.
I really liked the fact that the female MC's mom was also fat. I feel like we do not see that in books with a plus size mc. I could relate so much to different scenarios that Baylee was in as a fat person. 

Covid was prominent in the book. The reason why it was so heavily in it especially in the second half is because the female MC's sister has cerebral palsy and could not be compromised with the disease. 

Reviews states they hated the cheating/love triangle but I remember the age and I feel like this is stuff that happens and when you want/crave that attention, nothing else matters but feeding those needs. I do not agree with the choices she made but I also think that high school students are doing this.  

PS - When I first saw this cover months and months ago, I felt so seen as I thought the female looked like me. It is such a great feeling seeing the representation on a book cover.

I wanted to like this more but it was hard to follow via audio. 
The timeline was not really noticeable with the exception of the two different narrators. 
I did have to google reviews to see if I could figure out the point of views for the past. 
Perhaps I would have had a different experience reading it rather than listening. 
I do love the fact that all the characters were all retirees and still could kick butt.
I could definitely see this be a movie or a limited series. 

This was very different.
It was mixed a fiction but also a mystery? 
I love that we had this house where queer people could go and be safe especially in the 1950s. 
I almost missed that it took place in the 50s because the main character would not be kicked off the police force for being gay but then sadly yes that was the case then. 
Narrator was great! 

We definitely need more queer thrillers/mysteries.

Thank you so much to Ashley Schumacher, St Martins & Wednesday for an advanced copy of this book! 

"The things that can bring us the most pain in life can also bring us the greatest joy." 

This book is heavy with grief so please prepare yourself if you think you are in a vulnerable position especially after losing a parent specifically a mother. Madeline is so young and is navigating her new normal almost a year after losing her mother to cancer. The way that Schumacher describe Madeline's grief was so believable that you could feel the sadness from the pages.

Her family lived an unconventional life traveling to different renaissance faires while doing online schooling. I thought this aspect was very different and unique for a YA book. 

While there is a romance between Madeline aka Gwen and a young bard, Arthur, the faire new owner's son, I found this book to be more of a discovery of herself and learning to heal.  The theme of fate runs throughout the book, while Arthur is all about fate Madeline is doesn't want to believe due to all the bad stuff that has happened in her life. I'm sorry Madeline but it definitely was fate that you met Arthur because I believe he came at the perfect time for you. Arthur wanted nothing more for Madeline to embrace the fun that life has to offer even on the days that she did not want to do anything. 

"At some point you're going to have to stop assuming the worst about yourself and everyone else around you." 

There were a few moments that I felt so relatable as a teenager and also as an adult especially when it came to trying on clothes.  I wish I could remember all my feelings that I had as a teen. I knew I was different and that I wasn't what was "normal" but looking back I don't think I disliked myself as much as a lot of other fat characters I read about. I wish I could remember more perhaps my old journals would tell a different story. 

One of my favorite moments from the book was the chapter of Madeline going to Arthur's family cookout. We really got to see Madeline shine and work through her insecurities and learning more about Arthur's story. It was just really lovely. 

It was getting a little frustrating when Madeline was so tunneled vision that she knew exactly what Arthur wanted and thought when it was the complete opposite. I had to keep reminding myself that she was a teenager (though I'm certain adults would do the same thing). She had been so used to her routine and bubble that when he came into her atmosphere, she didn't know how to react. 

I really liked that Madeline and her mother seem to have a beautiful relationship and while the relationship likely wasn't perfect there didn't seem to be the added pressure from her to lose weight.

I really liked the incorporation of the positive therapy discourse throughout the book. You could see Madeline's development throughout the book with the help from Dr. Jenkins. And by the end she was able to let go some of the habits that she started when her mom passed and decided to move forward with healing. 

I wish I had this book as a teenager and I think other teenagers will also be thankful for it.