thelovelylibrarylady's Reviews (1.1k)

I procrastinated on reading a book by Emily Henry because every romance reader that I know loves her writing. I was worried that her work would not live up to all of the hype I had seen. I was wrong. I absolutely adored this friends-to-lovers (my favorite trope!) romance novel. Poppy and Alex, the love interests, were well rounded and I was totally invested in their story. I will not be holding off on picking up another title written by Henry in the future!

If there is one thing that I cannot resist, it is a good fairytale retelling. That's why I am extremely grateful that I got to read and review Guillory's take on the classic Beauty and The Beast tale early. This is the second title in the Meant To Be series, a collection of stories that reimagine the Disney princesses in the modern-day. Overall, I thought this book was great. There were a lot of magical elements from this fairytale that Guillory was able to include despite the book not being fantasy. I look forward to reading future titles from this collection!
(PUB DATE: 05/03/2022)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

Spontaneous Human Combustion is a strange, bone-chilling collection of short stories. If you are looking to scare yourself and enjoy the short story format, I would highly recommend checking out this recently published title. There wasn't a single story in the entire collection that I found to be weak. Thomas, the author, shows off his incredible range and I am definitely looking forward to reading his other work. 
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received an audio recording of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

I have been picking up historical fiction novels more recently and was very excited when I got approved to read this title through NetGalley. The blurb and character descriptions sounded great, but the actual book was not. The writing was extremely slow-paced and I had to force myself to finish reading this book. Readers who enjoy character-driven stories may enjoy Caroline more than I did, but I would not recommend it to others. 
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received an audio recording of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

Concrete Rose, the prequel to The Hate U Give, is a fantastic book. Thomas, the author, gives us more background information on Starr's parents and returns to the setting of Garden Heights. The characters in this story are well-rounded and I felt an emotional connection to all of them. Maverick, the father from The Hate U Give, is the protagonist of Concrete Rose, and more insight into his young adult life is revealed to the reader throughout this book. Angie Thomas is a phenomenal writer and I can't wait to see what she writes next! 

As a huge fan of The Office - the theme song may or may not be my default ringtone - I really enjoyed reading this memoir co-written by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. The Office BFFs gives readers an inside look at how the iconic sitcom was filmed, who worked on the show behind the scenes, and insight on how to deal with sudden fame. My favorite chapters were about each woman's relationship with their on-screen love interest. It is obvious that the cast really adored each other and still are close friends today. I highly recommend this title to any readers who also have a special place in their heart for The Office. 
(PUB DATE: 05/17/2022)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

The Perfect Wife is a sci-fi thriller that keeps the reader's attention. The storyline is unpredictable (especially the twist at the end!), but I didn't connect with Abbie, the protagonist, in the way I wanted to. I wish that the author had given us more information about her at the beginning of the novel, rather than leave details out in an attempt to create suspense. If you are looking for a similar type of book, I would recommend checking out John Marrs' work. I personally think that he is a better author in all aspects. 

Sometimes I give a book five stars because I really enjoyed reading it and sometimes I give a book five stars because it was perfectly written. In this case, Heartbreak Boys fits both of these requirements. Simon James Green is a very talented writer and had me laughing out loud with his characters' actions and dialogue. If you are a fan of romcoms and enjoy YA fiction, Heartbreak Boys is a title you must add to your reading list.