stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

 This has been on radar for quite sometime and I thought the Transreadathon was the perfect time to read it!

This was narrated by actor and performer E.R. Fightmaster. As soon as the book started, I knew I would be able to breeze through this. Their voice was so calming and relaxing to listen to. You couldn't help be drawn to their voice. They were able to bring out the emotions that River was going through over the course of the book.

This book takes place over the course of a few years. Starting when River was in high school and ending in the year 2030. I am not transgender nor has ever questioned by sexuality or identity but this book explored the complicated feelings of one who is questioning themselves. High school is a hard time for a lot of teenagers and I can imagine when you are questioning your identity that can make it even harder.

I thought McCarthy did a speculator job getting into the head of a teenager during that time. I saw a review that said that "Cis people, especially, have absolutely no baseline for what the transition process feels like or looks like" which is 1000% perfect true. That is the importance of reading and diversifying your reading so you can educate and learn and try to have some sort of understanding of what individuals go through. And I love the call back to the marine life throughout the book (including the quote that I provided).

River and Indy's relationship was a rocky one at first but in the end Indy was the one who was in their life and there when they needed them the most. Friendships and relationships change over time and I thought it felt realistic when they did have a break up but then reconnected years later.

The reason why this is not rated higher is that there was time in the middle where I lost what was happening. Might have been a me issue but it was just not memorable as the beginning and the end were. This totally is a me thing. There are a lot of fabulous reviews for this and I encourage you to check them if you are unsure if this is something you want to read.

I love that we got a full circle for River's life in less than 350 pages or 10 hrs of audio. We got to see the beginning of their journey until they are in their adulthood ultimately happy with their family. 

 Thank you so much to Avon for the complimentary copy of this!
Thank you so much to HarperAudio Adult for the complimentary ALC!

This book is out now!

I read Edward's debut back in 2023 and really liked his writing. After reading this one, I now want to go back and read Everything Has Changed before his next book comes out.

I'll be honest I was a little apprehensive starting this because I had seen mixed reviews and I really don't know why. I thought this was really enjoyable! I was invested pretty much right from the start. Darby is at this crossroad in their life where he is about to turn 30 with no job, no love interests and in an apt that is small & costly (yay New York). So what does one do when they just want to reset their life - go back home to Oak Falls, IL. Luckily for Darby, using the excuse to help his mom back up his childhood home was the perfect excuse. What he didn't expect was running into his former best friend whom he did not know was still in the area. Darby isn't sure if New York City is still for him but also not sure if being in Oak Falls is where he should be either.

I thought Edward did such a great job with creating this backstory for Darby in New York. We got to meet his friends and see how they interacted with one another. And how he truly has this group of people in New York that has become his family. As much as Michael tried to include Darby in with his life and into his world with former classmates, Darby just felt so out of place. I think between the house party and the football game, I had this sinking feeling that IL was not for Darby.

As someone who is edging closer to 40, I could still relate to Darby's feeling of not being one way or another. And even though they may have been secure with themselves, there were still aspects of his life where he thought he would be further along in. The incorporation of the bookstore and seeing himself as a teenager has to be SO trippy! Especially when he was still a female, before he even realized that he was trans. I love Darby's relationship with his mom. She was so supportive and sweet. I found myself chuckling a few times at their dynamic.

I was advised early on that this book was not a romance but that didn't stop me from rooting for Darby and Michael to be a thing. I loved their relationship and that they were able to reconnect again as adults. I know the miscommunication trope is not well liked but I felt like it does make things a bit more believable. Because humans and even adults have a hard time communicating especially when it comes to feelings. I was glad that they were able to resolve their tension and Darby was able to get closure on what had happened.

We don't get any reason as to why the bookstore is magical or if Darby's interference causes any sort of ripple effect. I was okay with that because there were just so many other things happening. I am more curious if this occurs to anyone else in the town at their prior work place.

I paired my reading with the audio and Shaan Dasani was fantastic!! I have listened to a few books where he has done narration and I enjoyed those. He really was able to bring out the characters, especially Darby. There was a lot of internal monologue and Darby trying to not only make sense of himself but what was going on at the bookstore and I thought Shaan was able to convey that really well. I saw he is going to be doing the narration for Edward's next book and I will certainly be listening!

Overall I just really enjoyed this and recommend this if you are looking for something light but with a lot of heart.

3.75 - Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary ALC!

This book is out now!

When searching for books to add to my TBR for the Trans Readathon, I was trying to find ones that I wanted to read and ones that were new to me. This one was one that was new to me.

Quick description: A propulsive and atmospheric modern Gothic with all the splendor of The Great Gatsby . . . and all the secrets, lies, and darkness that opulence can hide.

Just like with the last book, I was drawn to the cover. And then I started to scan the description the gothic Great Gatsby - sold! Granted my memory of the movie is foggy and the book is even more blank but I still love the idea of a modern gothic version of it.

If you are a fan of rich people behaving badly then this may be the book for you. It’s hard to describe the genre for this book. It’s like gothic fiction? But yet kind of suspenseful? There is a little of romance in it as well (plays out more towards the end).

There was time when I did have to rewind (I blame work) and hearing it a 2nd time made things click. Lena starts working for the elite Verdeaus family. But things are not what it seems. And she is suddenly thrown into this world of parties, sex, drugs and secrets.

My heart broke for Jonathan. He clearly was a walking red flag and needed help desperately. He went through a lot in this book and Lena could see it. And she wanted to help him so bad. Lena found some sort of solace with Jonathan’s sister Audrey who also wanted what was best for her brother but just had some weird ways of going about it.

I thought the narrator Carlotta Brentan was excellent! I was drawn into her voice and mixed with the text it worked went well. I may have struggled without the audio if I had read just with my eyes. I also just really liked her voice.

I recommend this if you like rich people behaving badly, revenge theme and just a wild time!

Mini Book Review: Sooo full disclosure I totally thought this was the first book and I did not do my research correctly because this is the 2nd book in the series. But have no fear, the first book is waiting for me at the library.

Now that I got that out of the way, Huda is a teenager just trying to make it through summer. Her parents thought that Huda and her sisters needed to bond so they take a family drive from Michigan to Florida to go to Disney World.

The book explores themes of parent relationships, sister relationships, Islamophobia, and just wanting to belong. I am not familiar with the Muslim cultures so I learned through the book how they pray and the rituals they do prior to praying. Also I love how this book reminds us how the love of reading and books brings people together!

Once again a book makes me wish I had sisters! Even though they fought and were annoyed with one another.

I am excited to go back to read the first book and I was lucky enough to have an advance copy of the 3rd book in the series.

PS - Also I love the GENIUS way the author (or her marketing team) did the titles of these books! They crack me up!

First off this cover is SO striking! I have been wanting to read a book from Akwaeke for awhile now. You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty is still high on my list (too long of a wait time to read for this readathon) and will be read! 

Quick description: Five friends trying to outrun and outmatch a powerful, underground world.

This book is WILD like WILD. I think my face while I was listening was in a constant state of 😳. Please make sure you look at the trigger warnings. 

I am such a fan of books that take place over a short period of time and this scratched that itch for me since this took place over a weekend. 

I think what made this so intriguing, scary, intense is that it felt like it was real - could be real. Those are often more terrifying to me than any psychological thriller. I applaud Akwaeke for taking these real life scenarios in Nigeria and putting them to page for someone like me who lives a privileged life here in the America. 

This was narrated by two narrators: Adepero Oduye and Chukwudi Iwuji. Both narrators did a great job with the characters but I do wish we got more narrators for the different point of views. Until I got used to the format and the characters (thank you google), the voices were too similar for the characters. But overall it was a good listen! 

If you are looking for a fictional but feels like real life book, give this one a listen!

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

This book comes out on April 1st.

I first heard about this debut from Bad on Paper and host Becca Freeman spoke so highly of it so I immediately went to NetGalley to request. This was such a delightful romance!

Popular romance writer Margot Bradley has escaped to the remote wilderness of Alaska with the assistant of her sister as it came out that she doesn't in fact believe in love. Margot thinks that the 6 weeks with limited internet service is the reset she needs to start work on her first mystery and also give the public enough time to forget the headlines. What Margot didn't plan is to be in her very own romance with all the tropes being thrown at her.

Margot is very attracted to Dr. Forrest Wakefield whose family owns the lodge she is staying at. Forrest had his own issues with a prior female guest and tries hard to stay away from Margot and Margot just wants a simple hook up during her stay to take some edge off. Except it doesn't work out that way (as it never does). Forrest knows the Margot is different than anyone he has ever encountered. He was originally living in California before he moved to Alaska and took it as a sign that perhaps maybe he should reconsider going back to Cali. Him and Margot both go on this journey of self discovery in their own way. They each want to be in their respected career but the cloud of caregiving follows them around and the immense guilt they feel doing something for themselves isn't far behind. Also hello Forrest went and read all of her books - SWOOON! The quote above alludes to a sauna and boy were we in for a treat during that scene! This book is told from dual POVs though Forrest's chapters are nearly as long as Margot's but I was still happy to have his POV.

It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of slow burns but sometimes slow burns are truly amazing and this one was done well. There was just enough tension to keep me wanting more. Forrest was such a hottie on page. He was truly a perfect book boyfriend that only a female writer could craft. He was a selfless man who gave up his chance to work on breast cancer research to be a full time caregiver to his father. He truly thought his life was going to consist of living in Alaska and being there for his father making sure his needs were handled. I love seeing their relationship on page. And the juxtaposition to Margot who did not have a relationship with her dad but is close to her mom and even closer to her sister Savannah.

Savannah played a major part of the story without necessarily having much page time. Just like with Forrest, Margot has dedicated her life to being there for her sister who has an autoimmune disorder but Savannah had other plans. Even though I felt like Margot was a little overbearing it made me wish that I had an older sister who cared so deeply about my well being. I was proud of Savannah for orchestrating this trip for Margot and really planning all the moments out for her. The letters she left for Margot were so sweet and meant a lot to her. If there was one person who was going to motivate Margot, it was her sister. Without giving away any spoilers, the last letter that Savannah wrote for Margot really threw her in for a loop which after a series of other events prompted Margot to return back home.

My only critique and this is such a me issue is that the first half of the book, the chapters were long which made me feel like I wasn't getting anywhere in the book. But then as the chapters got shorter, I felt like I was zooming. So if long chapters are your jam then you shouldn't have any issues.

Final Thoughts: When I was not reading this book, I was thinking about Forrest and Margot. I love seeing how their relationship grew in 6 weeks. And not only their growth but also Margot's growth during that time away. Truly I feel like we all could use 6 weeks in the wilderness to reconnect with ourselves and turn the brain off for a bit.

I recommend this book if you enjoy caregiving storylines, sister relationship, Alaskan setting with burly intelligent man!

PS - The author's thank you to her her husband at the end made my eyes misty!! I also felt like that it explained a lot about the book and its themes.

Thank you so much to Avon for the complimentary copy of the book!

This book is out now!

This is a debut from author Kat Mackenzie so I was unsure what to expect going into it. I am notorious for not reading about the synopsis before reading so I was only going off by the title and cover. Totally thought this was going to be about a woman who falls in love with a Scotsman while on a work trip - welp I was wrong LOL 

One thing I love in books is when an author has their characters go on solo trips. Though the worrywart in me is nervous about what could happen while alone on a trip, I know this is fiction and nothing bad would happen BUT I still think about if this was reality.  Our FMC Alice needs a reset so she booked herself a trip to the UK on what she thinks is an all female literary trip. Well that turns out to be true except the females were between being retirees to those in their golden years. 

I love that all the side characters are older woman who truly bond over the course of the trip! A lot of them have done these trips previously so they are already friendly with one another. They provided Alice with wisdom and guidance that she wasn't necessarily looking for but in the end needed.  I think I was more sad for Alice to leave these group of women than her relationship with Robbie. 

Alice meets Robbie in the airport and things did not kick off to a great start. She thought she wouldn't ever see him again until it turns out he runs the literary trip that she signed up for! Forced proximity is one of my favorite tropes and you can't get more forced proximity than spending 3 weeks in a bus traveling from country to country.  There were a few moments that made me laugh out loud including a unfortunate incident that left poor Alice without clean clothes for a few days - iykyk.  These two though were fire and ice for a good part of the book. They just were constantly bickering and I felt Alice had a little chip on her shoulder when she thought Robbie had a girlfriend/wife but yet was flirting (which I get but just ask him). 

I read this one all with the audio and the fabulous Angela Dawe provided the narration. This is the 2nd book that I read with her narration that was not the Finlay Donovan series and she has such a distinct voice it was hard not hearing Finlay while listening. But sure enough as the book went on, it morphs into Alice and the other characters. 

Overall I really enjoyed the book but it just was missing something that I can't pinpoint. I am looking forward to seeing what else Kat writes though! I love her craft of the characters without it feeling it was too many as well the amazing banter between our couple! 

I recommend this if you love a enemies to lovers romance with funny side characters and a setting set across the UK! 

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster & Simon Books Buddy for the complimentary copy of the book!

This book is out now!

This is one of the buzziest books at the moment so of course I had to read it. I ended up finishing this in one day because of how much I was enjoying it. It was a little bit of a slow start in the beginning but as most books its because the author was introducing us to the characters. You don't have to wait too long for an occurrence to occur that sets in the motion the rest of the book.  This is told from 3 timelines - the past, the present day and the future. In the past timeline we get insight into how the relationship with Gabriel started & why it ended. The current timeline we see them reconnect as adults and what is going on in their separate lives and then in the future is all about the court trial. You do not know until closer to end who & what the trial is for. The book keeps you on your toes and each chapter leaves you wanting for the next. The book is not very long only around 320 pages and just under 9 hours of audio which made it a pretty quick listen. 

I will say this was a bit more romantic than I was expecting! Now its nothing like the romances I read but just more action than I assumed we would get. And of course I loved it all. This is not a spoiler as the descriptions alludes to a love triangle but how does one pick when both object of desires on paper seem like great men?! You'll have to read to see what happens! 

I had planned on reading this one in tandem with the audio but I got sucked into the audio to even had a moment to follow with the book.  Hattie Morahan was the narrator and I don't believe I ever listened to any of the plethora of books that she's done but she made the listening experience very easy. 

This book was already picked up to be adapted by Reese's film production and I think it will translate really well to either a limited series or a movie. 

If you were a fan of the book Penitence that came out earlier this year, I think you would really enjoy this! There were themes that mirrored in both books.  This book has a little bit of everything - romance, suspense, family drama, murder and grief all wrapped up! 

 Thank you so much to Sourcebooks for the advance copy of this!

This book will be out on March 25th.

I am very conflicted on how I should write this review. I have been putting it off for a few reasons and one of them being seeing other reviews and doing research on the very obvious subject matter within the pages of the book.

The good: Though this was a little slow and I would feel like I was reading forever but not getting anywhere, I was still so immersed into the story. We got a full beginning, middle and end. Winstead created such a backstory for our FMC Jane. You are sympathetic towards her because of being with her when she learns of her father's death and then with her during the depths of her grieving. As the reader, you could see how she just continues to spiral and to make sense of her father's death and then throwing herself into solving crimes as a distraction. I love how Winstead created this online community and the connection that Jane made with those individuals in the community. Those side characters are also what made the story. Winstead was able to craft their backstory within the text and made you attached to the characters. You rooted for them, you questioned them, your heart broke for them, you were scared for them. Everyone at one point felt like an unreliable including the narrator.

The bad: I am not a true crime fan. I will see headlines in the news but sadly I have become so desensitized by the stories that I see the story and then move on. Before reading this book, I was talking to my library co worker about it because they already have read it and she was the one who told me that it felt similar to the Idaho murders. I had no clue based off that what she was referring to but then when I looked it up, I remember this being a story and the connection to Pennsylvania (where I live). But if it weren't for my coworker telling me about that. I'm not sure I would have made the connection. Knowing though how similar some of the timeline is from that night to what happened in the book, it is not a good look for Winstead. She could have changed a lot of things to make it her own but she didn't. I know this has left a lot of readers feeling very icky.

All the things I mentioned above in "the bad" is a shame because it tainted the overall book experience for a lot of readers (and even myself reflecting back). I am still rating it a 4 because I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the ride was a rollercoaster of emotions. I still enjoyed the structure and what Winstead was trying to accomplish with the storyline. I would have rated it a 5 had the storyline wasn't SO close to the real life tragedy. 

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the free book & complimentary copy of the book! #Partner
Thank you so much to @PRHAudio for the complimentary ALC!

This book is out now!

Fan Service was such a fun and unique story! I love the aspect of the fandom and how the art came to life. I will admit that via audio I was a little confused in the beginning but once I started to tandem read, everything had clicked into place.

The audiobook was narrated by Aaron Shedlock and Brittany Pressley. I have loved both of their narrations on other projects and this one was no exception. They helped bring Alex and Devin to life in their respective POVs.

One thing I thought was so cool of Rosie to do with the FMC Alex is made her appearance not so stereotypical. She is a goth girl who has a gap front teeth and grew up being told she was a “freak”. I felt bad in the very beginning that she had this tainted moment with her tv crush that just about ruined her.

Devin has been so jaded by Hollywood that coming to Florida really opened him up and also turning into a wolf would do that to you. I love that even after his initial freak out about turning into a wolf he really wanted to try to learn how to control himself. I love how Alex & Devin worked together to get a handle on this change and how they were able to relay it back to the tv show. On the outside they don’t seem like they would go together but it worked! I like that they were able to connect on deeper levels and Alex learned why he was the way he was when she met him all those years before.

This was not my favorite of Rosie's works (and that's okay!) but I love that she was able to continue to explore the paranormal genre. My struggles with this book could very well be me because of the paranormal aspect of it (it perhaps is not for me?). I also was missing the lack of spice which normally is fine but knowing what Rosie has done in the past I was just anticipating more. I know Rosie's next book will also be a paranormal rom com and just because I'm such a fan of her, I will be checking it out!

I did love how Rosie incorporated forums and how true friendships form from those that you meet in these forums. I know I still chat with people who I met in a TRL (yes you read that right as in Total Request Live) form when I was 13!

Just because this wasn't a complete homerun for me, doesn't mean that it won't be for you! If you are interested in fandoms and werewolves - give this one a read!