Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Sparks fly when an up-and-coming team principle and her new hot-shot driver—and former childhood crush—are forced to work together to save their careers and team in this deliciously winning Formula 1 romance.
Can they navigate the twists and turns of love without crashing and burning?
As one of the first female team principles in Formula 1, Chloe Coleman is determined to prove herself and transform her failing team from underdogs to champions. Nothing can ruin her strategy—except maybe the surprising new addition of a cocky, top-tier driver who’s lost his edge. And he just so happens to be her estranged childhood crush who still sends her heart racing.
Matt Warner needs a comeback. A former champion, he hasn’t won a race since the disastrous crash that landed his best friend and teammate in the hospital. If there’s a silver lining to this scandalous demotion, it’s his fierce and familiar new boss, Chloe. But as the competition heats up, so does an unexpected spark that turns dangerously and passionately hot. With the world watching and pressures of the season mounting, will their chemistry lead them to victory, or spin them out of control?
Content Warning: sexism
+ F1 racing romance? I was definitely intrigued and I am not a race car watching girlie, so I was looking forward to learn something about F1 racing and I did! So I enjoyed that.
+ Chloe and Matt grew up together as kids, and Chloe had the biggest crush on him but Matt went on to do big things in the racing world, leaving her brokenhearted. Now, the race team Chloe is working for as the first female principal, has acquired Matt to race for them. Matt has been struggling with some things like anxiety and PTSD, after being in a race car crash that hurt his teammate. And being forced to work together, brings all the old feelings back for Chloe and new feelings for Matt.
+ The romance between Chloe and Matt has to be hidden from the team, since they work together – she’s the principal for the team, and he’s the race car driver, so they had to hide what was growing between them from the press. There some spice between them too. I like how this romance fit into the world of suspense that racing brings – I think it heightened the relationship between Chloe and Matt because so much was at stake with their team.
+ I really liked how even though there is a romance going on, Chloe and Matt, are trying to better themselves in their personal lives. Chloe is principal for the first time and a lot is riding on her. Matt has to deal with his PTSD and anxiety which affects his driving a lot. So I liked seeing both of them grow, I was rooting for them.
~ I loved Chloe, she’s a nice person, but I kind of was surprised how naive she was about the press, and how they can spin things to create their own narrative. I’m surprised because she was raised in this world and as principal who seems to have to deal with the press a lot, I would expect her to be a bit more savvy even if she was new to her role. She grew up in this world.
~ I wanted a little more about Chloe and Matt’s childhood since that’s where she fell for him.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a cute romance, with a little spice thrown in, and I learned about F1 racing! I loved the tense situations that came with the racing world in this story from the high stakes about making it to the podium, and careers on the line. Overall, I enjoyed this one.
Title: The Lies of Lena (The Otacian Chronicles, #1)
Author: Kylie Snow
Narrator(s): Kieran Regan; Natalie Van Sistine
Format: audiobook (NetGalley)
Pages: 462 Listening Time: Approximately 12 hours 34 min
Publication Date: 1/6/26
Publisher: Gollancz
Categories: Romantasy, New Adult
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Gollancz for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A SECRET MAGE. A VENGEFUL PRINCE. WILL FORBIDDEN LOVE UNITE THE REALM – OR BURN IT DOWN… *please check trigger warnings before diving in
In Tovagoth, Mages like Lena Daelyra live in hunted, outlawed, and reviled. Even after fleeing to Otacia, Lena hides her magic, cloaked in silence. But when she meets Quinn Callon, a quick-witted swordsman from the Inner Ring, her walls begin to crack. He trains Lena to fight, never suspecting the truth she hides. But as their connection deepens, so does the danger… and Lena knows love is a risk she can’t afford.
Silas La’Rune, Crown Prince of Otacia, has been caged within the Kingdom castle since the kidnapping and murder of his sister, the Princess. Until one day beyond the castle walls reveals a Kingdom rotting beneath its guiled surface – and a girl who shouldn’t exist.
When tragedy tears Lena from Quinn, as destiny would have it, Lena and Silas’ paths collide. For the future of Magekind depends on them, and love could just about be the deadliest weapon…
Content Warning: violence, torture, sexual assault, rape, grief
I remember seeing this book all over the booktoks and book socials this past year and I even downloaded but I don’t know why I never read it. I can’t say I love the original cover, but I do like this new one for the audiobook. I decided to try it out the story this way to see if I could actually get into the book.
This story was a little all over the place. It’s got a lot of the usual romantasy tropes like secret identity and forbidden love. A teenage girl who is secretly a Mage, meets a handsome boy on the streets who has his own secret and from there they train together and a sweet romance grows. Sweet….but spicy. Yes, there as spicy scenes between teens in this story which was very surprising to me because it is graphic. Didn’t love that but I really did believe in their teenage love story and was rooting for them since both characters seemed like good people.
The world-building I thought was pretty light, a kingdom called Otacia is ruled by a king who has oppressed mages. In this world they use copper, silver, gold for currency, they wear tunics and then out of the blue a character will mention they have pizza as food? Sometimes modern clothing is mentioned. Even modern speech was used in this world so I had a lot of questions about the world-building. There is also a time-jump in part two of the story where it jumps ahead 5 years. I’m glad for the jump because the sixteen year olds having spicy scenes early on was kind of jarring. They also mention vampires, and the undead, so this world seems to have everything.
As for the characters? Lena is naive and acted like an impulsive, love-struck teenager, making wrong decisions. At least with the 5 year jump, I feel like there is a lot of growth there. Gone are the sweet teens. Lena’s stronger, has grown without Silas, knows her magic better and now is thrust into a position to lead. Silas, went from a sheltered prince to a cold, violent, damaged one. There are other characters, like Torrin, who just disappears, which I though was kind of strange.
As for the romance, like I said it’s a sweet love in the beginning. But with the time jump, and Silas and Lena having moved on with their lives, their reunion is not a happy one. Now they both have other options, trauma from the past, and I know it’s going to be very dramatic when these two ever get back together. It was just strange to me that they are fated but Lena is looking at every attractive guy – like what?
But despite all these issues the narrators did such an amazing job at bringing this story to life. All the stars I’m giving is mostly for them. I feel like if I read this book as an ebook or hardcover I would have DNF’ed because of the naivety of the characters, and the light world-building, but their voices made this story kind of addicting which surprised me!
Note the triggers for this book because there are some ugly scenes it in. It’s violent, there is grief, there is rape. But I will say even though it was awful, I felt like the author never stayed in the darkness for long and moved past certain events quickly. There was a feeling that things just moved quickly in the story, without dwelling in certain feelings, thoughts or emotions for the character. The story lacked depth.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, this audiobook was great. I really don’t think I would have been able to continue this book if I read it in another form, but this audiobook really brought the story to life. There are a lot of issues with the story but I will say because the audiobook was addicting, that this is the kind of story you sit back with your popcorn next to you and just read for the messiness of it all. It’s filled with drama, and eye-rolling moments to the point it made me cackle. I’m not here for the writing quality or the plot really – I think I’m here for the drama, so yes I will be reading book two soon.
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.
Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.
As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.
Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.
+ The narrators for this audiobook were fantastic! The story starts off with a tense moment, then flashes back to the past and ends with the present again. There are many tense moments in the beginning and end, this story is an emotional ride. The relationships in this story is really what made it such a great book.
+ I really enjoyed the storytelling. I love all the historical elements about NASA! I even didn’t mind the science stuff, I was interested in it. Joan’s story of being a professor, then training to be an astronaut and falling in love with another woman, to being an aunt and then the main caregiver – what a story!
+ Joan and Vanessa’s love story is so good, realistic and heartbreaking. It’s so full of love, but so filled with challenges – not being able to love one another in public. UGH – it made me shed a tear. I love how they fight for one another.
+ The found family with the fellow astronauts was so heart-warming. I loved all the training scenes and everyone getting to know one another and you can feel the camaraderie. I also loved the real family challenges that Joan go through with her sister Barbara and her niece Frances. I was so mad at Barbara but Joan is a great aunt who loves her niece.
~ Barbara – I wish hoping she would change, hoping she would make the right choices, but she just ended up making me upset.
Final Thoughts:
This story had everything – drama, romance, history, it is heart-warming, emotional and devastating. It has characters I loved and rooted for. I loved it and it made me cry.
Publisher: Canary Street Press Trade Paperback Original
Categories: Contemporary, Romance
CEO seeks dating coach
Julia Song, CEO of Starlight Cosmetics, is at the height of her career. Then why does she feel like such a failure? Maybe because she’s thirty and single, with a terrible track record at dating. And in the eyes of her Korean family, that is just unacceptable. It never really bothered her—that is until her beloved grandmother drops the bomb that she is sick and her dying wish is for Julia to get married. Impossible. So in a moment of weakness, Julia asks her family for help. Set her up on three dates to help her find The One. But it will never work—Julia is undateable. If only there was a coach for that…
Tae Kim knows about the weight of familial expectation. He’s currently unemployed, living in his parents’ basement to care for his ill father. Sure, he’s become somewhat of a fix-it man for the Korean community around town, but that’s not a real job. And the pressure to get his life together is getting to be too much. So when the Julia Song—his childhood crush—asks for his help, it may be just the distraction he needs. He’ll do whatever it takes, even coach her for these three dates. Problem is, the more time they spend together and the closer they get, the more Tae wonders if anyone is good enough for Julia…including him.
“Introspective, funny, relatable, sexy—it’s an absolutely perfect romance.” —Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
Book Excerpt:
BRIBE BAGS
JULIA SONG HATED being the center of attention.
So standing here at the head of the conference table, expect-ant eyes of Very Important People all on her, was pretty much torture.
But Julia was the CEO of Starlight Cosmetics, this company was her baby, these VIPs the executives she hired to help grow the business. And the news she had to share with them was monumental.
She scanned her memory for the advice from her executive coach for this kind of situation. The only thing she could remember was, contrary to everything she’d ever been told before in her life, never try to picture your audience naked. It would make the nerves even worse.
And, of course, now that’s all Julia could think of.
She closed her eyes for a moment to clear her mind of all the unfortunate images fighting to run through her head.
What was that one thing her coach told her?
Squeeze your butt cheeks to hold the plank. Wait, no, that was her abs coach.
If the recipe calls for garlic, double it. Wrong again. That was her cooking coach.
Oh, screw it. What was the use of having all these people to help Julia better herself when she couldn’t call upon the advice when needed?
She cleared her throat and decided to wing it.
“I know you’re all busy, so I’ll make this quick. Look, it’s not how I wanted to do this . . .”
Her dream, rather, was to one day point at each of them and tell them an exorbitant dollar amount for a bonus. Enough money for them to buy new homes in the hills or on the beach, whichever they preferred.
“Wait—are you firing us?” someone cried out from the other end of the table.
Julia’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “What? No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Always start with something personal and positive to get people excited about what you’re going to say. Oh yeah, that’s the brilliant advice her coach had mentioned.
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so ominous.” Julia quickly backtracked. “It’s just that, well, at the risk of get-ting too squishy in a work meeting, I really wanted to thank you all for taking a chance on me way back when all of this was just an idea in my head.”
Julia swallowed the emotion building in her throat as she looked around at the team she’d put together to lead this company. They were the ones who took her idea to merge the best in the Korean skincare market with the high demands of the US consumer and built what was now one of the fastest- growing organic, clean K- beauty brands in America.
“I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your hard work and loyalty. I don’t know that any of us anticipated this kind of success. But honestly, none of it would have happened without each and every one of you and your contribution. And now, I have some really great news. As you know, Starlight’s Lotus Bamboo Essence was selected for Allure’s Best of Beauty awards. Which was a dream come true for us. But it doesn’t end there.”
Julia inserted the dramatic pause her public speaking coach had encouraged her to use. The looks of anticipation around the room fueled her excitement.
“I’m thrilled to share that the same Lotus Bamboo Essence has also been selected as one of this year’s Oprah’s Favorite Things!”
There was a silent pause of shock, followed by an eruption of applause and cheers, high fives, and hugs shared around the table.
“We’ll need to reforecast sales projections. We’re gonna blow up with the exposure . . .”
“We’re gonna have to update a comms plan . . .”
“We have to think of how we add this to the packaging design . . .”
“We need to make sure the supply chain can handle the increased distribution . . .”
“Oprah still has major influence on Gen X consumer spending. It’s a big win for a product . . .”
Yup, that was her team . . . no- nonsense, capable, loyal, honest . . . and the hardest- working, most talented people in the industry. And they were all business, just like her.
Her chest swelled as she watched them leave to get back to work, patting each other on the back as they walked out, taking the noise with them.
Julia started this company at only twenty- six years old. She’d disappointed her parents by changing her major from pre- med to business administration. She lived off ramen and PB&J sandwiches for a good year just to scrape by as she worked tirelessly to research the hadn’t exactly welcomed her with open arms. And she stomached the start- up community’s boys’ club as she tried to secure funding for the company.
And four short years later, they were on the verge of something huge. Hard work and dedication had brought them to this level of success. So yeah, she was proud of them, proud of herself. And at only thirty, she was finally in a position financially to take care of her family without worry.
When the last person left her office, Julia turned to look out the windows, the hustle and bustle of Santa Monica ten floors below. She took a deep breath.
“That’s right, motherfuckers,” she screamed, while pumping her fist. She shook her hips back and forth, adding in some aggressive hair throws and, why the heck not, followed it with a body roll. “Oh yeah, uh- huh . . .”
“Oh dear, that’s something I’m not likely going to forget seeing.”
Record scratch.
Julia halted her celebratory dance and quickly patted down her hair, trying to tuck her I- knew- I’d- regret-these bangs behind her ear as her assistant, Annette, entered the office.
“Unlike what your schedule says on paper, you’ve only actually attended that hot yoga class once. Should you really be try-ing to move your body like that?” Annette asked. “I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“You’re fired.”
Annette passed her the cup of black coffee in the Morning Person mug that she knew was a lie, along with a multivitamin and a probiotic. Breakfast of champions.
“Just remember that I know where the bodies are hidden. Oh, and I have those pictures of you from that one holiday party . . .”
“Okay, fine, you can stay,” Julia conceded.
“Is it a good time to ask for a raise?”
Julia tried to shoot Annette a glare but couldn’t keep back the smile. It was a secret to no one that Annette was invaluable to the Starlight team, and most days she was the one bossing Julia around. Julia shook her head and took a seat at her desk. “Can you forward the O magazine email to the team so they know all the details?”
“You betcha,” Annette said. “Have you told your folks yet?”
“No, not yet. I don’t think they’d even understand what a big deal this is.”
“Make sure to tell them.” Annette wasn’t only her assistant, she was also her work- mother as well. “Oh, and here is the updated short list of investors we might want to approach for global expansion. One bad meeting doesn’t have to halt progress.”
One bad meeting was an understatement. The last time Julia had met with an investment firm for an informational meeting, they kept asking about her significant other, driving home that they were a family- run business built on traditional values. They looked at her as young and inexperienced not because of her age— she knew plenty of male CEOs who were thirty— but because she wasn’t married with children. In their eyes, Julia wasn’t reliable because she wasn’t settled . . . settled down, that is.
Her accomplishments, alone, weren’t enough.
I’ll show them, she thought to herself as she gritted her teeth. Julia grabbed the list from Annette with a little bit more force than necessary and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Hey.” Annette softened her voice like she so rarely ever did. The one word in that tone made Julia surprisingly emotional. “It’s a good day, boss lady. You should be proud.” She patted Julia on the shoulder before walking back to her desk just outside Julia’s office.
Susan Lee is the author of the critically acclaimed and reader favorite young adult romantic comedies SEOULMATES and THE NAME DROP. Her work has been featured in national outlets such as Buzzfeed, NPR, and Pop Sugar. Kirkus Reviews calls Susan’s voice “honest, fresh and thoughtful”. A graduate of UC San Diego, Susan built a career as an HR executive at some of today’s hottest companies, until she realized that writing stories was a more impactful and powerful form of resistance and change.
Now she channels her energy into writing Happily Ever Afters for those historically underrepresented in Romance. When she is not writing (or painfully procrastinating from writing), Susan can be found down the rabbit holes of her many obsessions including listening to Kpop, binge watching K-dramas, collecting sneakers, building mechanical keyboards, and obsessing over her two adorable, but ill-behaved chihuahuas.
Pages: 336 Listening Time: Approximately 10 hours 8 min
Publication Date: 10/28/25
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Categories: Romance, Contemporary
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Harlequin Audio for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
CEO seeks dating coach
Critically acclaimed and reader-favorite author Susan Lee’s hilarious adult debut is a shimmering and joyful look at the magnificent—and sometimes suffocating—weight of family, the ways we limit ourselves, and the irresistible power of love.
Julia Song, CEO of Starlight Cosmetics, is at the height of her career. Then why does she feel like such a failure? Maybe because she’s thirty and single, with a terrible track record at dating. And in the eyes of her Korean family, that is just unacceptable. It never really bothered her—that is until her beloved grandmother drops the bomb that she is sick and her dying wish is for Julia to get married. Impossible. So in a moment of weakness, Julia asks her family for help. Set her up on three dates to help her find The One. But it will never work—Julia is undateable. If only there was a coach for that…
Tae Kim knows about the weight of familial expectation. He’s currently unemployed, living in his parents’ basement to care for his ill father. Sure, he’s become somewhat of a fix-it man for the Korean community around town, but that’s not a real job. And the pressure to get his life together is getting to be too much. So when the Julia Song—his childhood crush—asks for his help, it may be just the distraction he needs. He’ll do whatever it takes, even coach her for these three dates. Problem is, the more time they spend together and the closer they get, the more Tae wonders if anyone is good enough for Julia…including him.
Content Warning: cultural ad familial pressures
+ The lone narrator for this book really did a great job doing the voices for all the characters!
+ Julia is a CEO but single. Her Korean family want to set her up on dates because they want her to get married. Tae Kim, the boy across the street that she used to babysit, says he’ll help her find dates because according to Julia’s ex, she’s undateable. I like how this story had a little bit of everything, friendship, lots of family themes, and a sweet romance.
+ It’s not often I come across a romance with the female being older than the love interest. I think there is a 5 year age gap between Julia and Tae but I thought it was cute since they used to be neighbors and their families know each other so well. And I really appreciated that Julia was the rich CEO and Tae was the one who was finding his way but he was a good guy, helping all the neighbors with anything they needed plus he was a caretaker for his parents! Talk about a traditionally “good son”. But this is very much a friends to lovers kind of situation.
+ There are a lot of themes about family and cultural pressures. Julia and Tae are Korean and their families have high expectations on what they expect out of their children. It gets to be a lot, especially for Tae but I felt like it was so relatable even though as a reader, I’m not Korean. I found their situations to be very relatable.
~ I thought the romance was cute but I wanted more from them, more chemistry.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, this was a cute read especially if you like friends to lovers. There are a lot of good family and friendship themes in this story. The narrator did a great job also.
Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Series
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The invitation arrives out of the blue.
In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood.
Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary.
With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater.
I read We Were Liars when it first published in 2014 and the tv series just came out on Amazon Prime so I did watch that and it refreshed my memory! I’m glad that show aired because jumping into We Fell Apart was easy as the Sinclair family and Beechwood was fresh in my mind.
We Fell Apart takes us back to Beechwood, just as the event of We Were Liars have concluded. Matilda gets an email from the dad she never knew and he asks her to come meet him at Hidden Beach, where he lives. Matilda has had quite a life with a mom who has basically chosen boyfriends over her – to the point after her mom decides to move away again with another guy, Matilda chooses to stay with her last boyfriend, a really nice guy who doesn’t mind having Matilda around.
Matilda goes to Hidden Beach and learns about this accident that happened with the Sinclairs. She meets her half-brother, his mom, and two other guys living at the run-down house. The summer is going by great but Matilda knows something isn’t right. Where is her dad? Why is the house so run-down? Why is June (Meer, her half-brother’s mom), not taking care of the boys and the house? What is going on at Hidden Beach.
I was sucked into this world again, and honestly love the family secrets in this world the Sinclairs built. The story moves quickly and the reveal in the end is shocking. It makes you question everyone’s motives and choices they’ve made to keep the secret they have been holding. I like Matilda and how she questions what is going on at the house. Also, there is a little romance but that’s not the focus. I thought it was also interesting how June thought she was this carefree, nonconforming wife because she didn’t want to be the Tipper Sinclair kind of housewife but in the end, was trapped in her own partnership with Kingsley. I felt like there were a lot of full circles with this book.
I did think the story moved too quickly though, it felt rushed and some moments – like when Holland (a Sinclair who befriends Matilda at the start of the book) takes her in and explains all about the Sinclairs. It was a lot of telling, and info-dumping.
Final Thoughts:
I actually enjoyed this one a lot because I had just watched the show and I was brought back to this place of summer, sun, family and most of all the secrets. Matilda knows something isn’t right at Hidden Beach and the reveal is devastating for her. I did like that there was a happy ending instead of another tragic one, though there is tragedy. Overall, a good addition to the series.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
**He never wanted to be a secret, but in this town, secrets keep you alive**.
Jason has fantasized about being struck by lightning more than once. This time, after being outed by his now former best friend.
But betrayal yields refuge in a circle of misfits, just as the isolation becomes unbearable. Among them is Tameera with her fierce honesty, Abby who revels in her protective loyalty and the magnetic but reckless Danny whose eyes glint with the dangerous possibility of love. Laughter in smoky rooms, nights stitched together by music and magic, and the fleeting thrill of love makes Jason feel safe.
Yet secrets linger in every corner of this town threatening Jason’s newfound peace. When he discovers the truth his high school tormentor would kill to keep hidden, will his chosen family be enough to protect him—or will the truth cost him his life?
*With Thoughts of Jason* is a haunting portrait of youth and desire, of friendship and betrayal, and of the brutal silence that society demands of those who don’t fit the mold.
Content Warning: mention of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, bullying, death, drug use (weed), mentions of other drugs, smoking, drinking, animal death
Jason is in high school and dealing with a few things. He’s gay, but in the closet. He is bullied at school, and raised in a Pentecostal home without a father. This story follows his life as someone who experiences his first encounters with a boy, making friends and learning who to trust, and trying to find love. I liked seeing him make friends and expanding his world, and eventually meeting other queer people. His growth was a journey I was invested in.
I felt like the start of this story is really eye-opening and makes a statement about who Jason is and how he has his first experience as a gay boy. I felt like the scenes of him hanging out with friends and partying was relatable and gave me a sense of nostalgia because you could tell this was before social media. And I’m glad Jason had his friends but it was sad that he had no support at home. He had no real bond with his brother, sister and mother. All Jason wanted was to be love and be loved in return.
There are a few topics and themes discussed in this story and some of them are dark. There is suicidal thoughts and attempts, there is bullying, and violence. And I had to remind myself that Jason was young, he was only in high school, trying to survive. There was a dangerous undercurrent to Jason’s life that I could feel throughout the story and I think it’s important that it’s there to give the reader a sense of what queer people may be feeling by being who they are. And it’s not okay that they cannot feel safe in society.
This was a quick read but there were a few times in the story where I felt like I missed something. I think because there is so much that happens to Jason in one year and sometimes the transition from one event to another wasn’t smooth.
Final Thoughts:
This is a heartbreaking, coming of age story about a boy named Jason who is trying to figure life out while being gay, and with no support from his family. There were so many times that his life took a turn for the worse, but through it all he did have some friends to help – and I loved that he at least had that. This story is eye opening, tragic and definitely an important one to tell.
A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book from Ashley Poston.
Joni Lark is living the dream. She’s one of the most coveted songwriters in LA…and she can’t seem to write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it.
When she returns to her hometown of Vienna Shores, North Carolina, she hopes that the sand, the surf, and the concerts at The Revelry, her family’s music venue, will spark her inspiration. But when she gets there, nothing is how she left it. Her best friend is avoiding her, her mother’s memories are fading fast, and The Revelry is closing.
How can she think about writing her next song when everything is changing without her?
Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it—belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with hangups of his own.
Surely, he’s a figment of her overworked imagination.
But then the very real man attached to the voice shows up in Vienna Shores. He’s aggravating and gruff on the outside—nothing like the sweet, funny voice in Joni’s head—and he has a plan:
They’ll finish the song haunting them both, break their connection, and hope they don’t risk their hearts in the process.
Because that song stuck in their heads? Maybe it’s there for a reason.
Content Warning: dementia, anxiety, grief
+ I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook – she did a great job capturing each of the characters.
+ This is a fun, sweet and heartwarming story especially if you are a fan of music and songwriting. Joni is a successful songwriter but she has a mental block right now and can’t write so she goes home to North Carolina. While at home Joni is surrounded by friends, and family. But so much has changed, especially with her mom dealing with dementia.
+ I loved Joni’s personal journal whether it was facing her mom’s deteriorating mental state, growing and having hard conversations with her best friend, trying to figure out why she felt so empty and then falling for Sasha (Sebastian). I also like how she had to figure out her path, where does she belong? In Los Angeles or was it okay to come back home – when she was the one who made the decision to leave and chase her dreams?
+~ There is a magical realism element to this story where where Joni and Sebastian have a connection from a spontaneous meeting. Farfetched? Sure! But I thought it was cute how they were in each other’s head and they start to help one another in a way. Eventually they fall for one another and then try to work on a song together, but Joni is afraid that when the song is gone, he’ll be gone from her head also and leave her to the emptiness again.
~ Since it was the magic allowing them to be in each other’s heads I kept wondering, how this story would play out without the magical realism. Would they have met again? Would they have liked one another?
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I enjoyed this story about music, songwriting, friendship, family, finding where you belong and also falling in love.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Kokila for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A sweet and fast-paced contemporary teen romance from USA Today bestselling author Kristina Forest
High school senior Margot Whitman is an intern at Healing Hearts Inc., the company that created the innovative pill that can erase a person’s heartbreak overnight. Every weekend, Margot witnesses patients get cured of their broken hearts. Meanwhile, she’s nursing a heartbreak of her own. With college on the horizon and their futures taking them in different directions, she and her ex Isaac recently called it quits. Margot has thought about taking a pill but erasing her love for Isaac doesn’t feel right. However, her heart breaks all over again when Isaac shows up to the Healing Hearts center, presumably seeking a pill to stop loving her.
As soon as Isaac Fisher walked through the Healing Hearts center doors, knew he’d made a mistake. Even though he’s struggling with heartbreak, he realized that doesn’t want to fall out of love with Margot. He’s surprised to see her working at the front desk, and of course she assumes he’s there to get over her. It doesn’t seem like things could get much worse, but then Margot and Isaac accidentally overhear a terrible and harmful secret about the pill. When they’re caught eavesdropping and almost attacked by shady Healing Hearts executives and their guards, they have no choice but to flee. Now they have to work together to reveal the truth about the pill . . . and maybe, just maybe, repair each other’s hearts in the process.
Content Warning:
+ Here’s a young adult romance which is wholesome. Margot and Isaac were together but broke up mostly because Isaac didn’t believe he deserved Margot. There is no hate between them, just sad longing. I thought the two of them were cute together as ex’s, and that’s rare!
+ There is a company who is selling heartbreak pills. The pills are supposed to help you get over heartbreak and Margot is interning at the company when she founds out something is wrong with the pills. Isaac helps her try to find people to give testimony which forces them to spend more time together.
+ This is a quick read and like I said, I thought it was cute because there wasn’t really much fighting between the ex’s. I like that they were sweet on each other and it was only a matter of talking things through and Isaac believe he was worthy of love that brings them back together again.
Final Thoughts:
This is definitely a book teens would enjoy if you like romance without too much drama between the characters who I both thought are sweet, good kids.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Dell for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Could a fake relationship with your ex over Christmas in Scotland be the perfect opportunity for revenge—or a second chance at love? One woman is about to find out in this charming holiday romance from the author of Always, in December and A Winter Wish.
Melanie has not had a good year. Things are definitely not going as planned in her work life, her best friend has moved to the other side of the world, and her favorite bagel shop is closing down. But the real reason this year has been awful is because Finn, the man who she was sure was the love of her life, dumped her. In front of everyone. At his sister’s engagement party.
So when Finn shows up at her doorstep two weeks before Christmas asking if she’ll help him, her first instinct is to slam the door in his face—or punch him. But he has a proposal for her.
Finn wants Melanie to spend the week of Christmas with him. He has to face the holiday at a vacation cottage in the Scottish Highlands with his two perfect siblings who are happily paired off with their perfect partners. His mother is obsessed with the idea of a perfect Christmas—and to try and help, Finn may have told his mother he and Mel are dating again. All she has to do is come with him and pretend they’re back together.
Melanie may hate Finn, but she loves his mom. And with her own parents on a trip, it looks like the only way to spend the holiday with someone she cares about is to suffer through being around the person she despises most.
So Melanie agrees—on one condition. At the end of the week, Finn will allow Mel to publicly dump him—in front of his family—so she can get her dignity back and he can experience the same humiliation she felt.
As they embark on seven days with Finn’s family, Mel tells herself it’s only a week. She just has to pretend to still be in love with him. Until she starts to lose track of which feelings are fake, and which are for real…
Content Warning: illness
+ A holiday romance set in the Scotland Highlands? Sounds like amazing Christmas season vibes. And this story has it in abundance.
+ Mel and Finn have been broken up for 6 months but he shows up out of the blue asking her if she could pretend to fake date him and attend his family’s Christmas trip with him. She agrees if she can enact a revenge breakup on him in front of his family. The story is told with flashbacks to when Mel and Finn were together and leading up to their first breakup.
+ The romance is a second chance romance and I think it’s obvious that being in forced proximity with one another would revive old memories and feelings. They get to work out the challenges that came between them the first time: Finn thinking he will be like his dad, and Mel trying to please everyone and not knowing if she can come through for everyone.
+ I enjoyed the family vibes along with the Christmas ones.
~ The beginning felt a little slow, maybe because of the flashbacks but it eventually picks up in the second half.
Final Thoughts:
If you like second chance romance and a Christmas story set in Scotland, you will enjoy this one.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 