Looking Back on 2022: Books with Twins

Twin tropes are very popular in books but I try to limit my time reading too many of them because to me they get repetitive and I don’t know what it is but I don’t like reading about two siblings that look exactly alike. Even if their personalities are different, I guess I just want diverse looks! I like the bond of twins, and when there is conflict it always makes a compelling story but I’d rather read about sisters that are different in looks, maybe to add a bit of diversity, than two people that look exactly alike. Here are the books I read in 2022 that had twins in the story:

Books with Twins

Do you like the twin trope? I think I like it best when the other twin is evil 😅. It makes the story more interesting.

Let me know in the comments!

WWW Wednesday | 12/21/22

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?

I slowed down on reading this month! There was just so much to do with the end of school before Winter Break and then my hubby left this weekend for his 2 year contract in Okinawa, Japan. There was a crazy storm system moving over Hawaii since Sunday – lots of rain and wind! My husband left on a red-eye on Sunday night and his flight took him through 3 hours of turbulence to San Francisco where he was delayed almost 2 hours – then an 11 hour flight from there to Haneda airport in Japan, where he missed his connecting flight to Okinawa, but had a chance to book a ticket on a later one. Yesterday he finally face-timed me at 6am, my son came running into the room to say hi to him (Okinawa is like 43 hours ahead of Hawaii) so he’s in “the future” as I like to tell my kids. 😅 Anyway I’m glad he made it. I don’t envy him having to travel for 30 hours (yuck) – maybe now I can settle down, relax and read more books.

What are you reading right now?

Books I Hope Santa Brings This Year | TTT | 12/20/22

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Books I Hope Santa Brings This Year

I only have these five books I want for Christmas! What books do you hope to get as gifts this year?

What’s on your TTT?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 12/20/22

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

The next book in the epic fantasy series by USA Today bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair.

Isolde, newly coronated queen, has finally found a king worthy of her in the vampire Adrian. But their love for each other has cost Isolde her father and her homeland. With two opposing goddesses playing mortals and vampires like chess pieces against one another, Isolde is uncertain who her allies are in the vampire stronghold of Revekka.

Now, as politics in the Red Palace grow more underhanded and a deadly blood mist threatens all of Cordova, Isolde must trust in the bond she’s formed with Adrian, even as she learns troubling information about his complicated past.


Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

Goodreads Monday: Heartbreaker (Hells Belles, #2)

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Title: Heartbreaker (Hells Belles, #2)

Author: Sarah MacLean

Pages: 391

Publication Date: 8/22/22

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke’s secrets…and his heart.

A Princess of Thieves

Raised among London’s most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower—so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she’s the Matchbreaker…using her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the altar.

A King of Reputation

Henry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection. He has no time for the salacious gossip that arises every time the Matchbreaker ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable—and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close.

A Royal Match

When the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, it’s impossible for Clayborn to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him. But late-night carriage rides make for delicious danger…and soon Adelaide is uncovering Clayborn’s truths, throwing his well-laid plans into chaos…and threatening to steal his heavily guarded heart.

Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap Up | 12/18/22

Aloha friends!

The kids are officially on Winter Break – my daughter caught another cold, I went to see the show Hamilton yesterday which was amazing and today is when my husband leaves for Okinawa, Japan to work for 2 years.

So now starts a journey I never thought I’d be in since he’s already out of the military – I really didn’t think I’d be doing the whole single-parent thing…but it’s the thought of trying to keep my kids happy and okay during the holidays and I mean more emotionally than physically. It’s Hanukkah week (Happy Hanukkah) and my hubby usually does the candles and prayer every night. And then there is Christmas morning of course – but we usually head over to my mom’s for lunch so they will be surrounded by family and New Year’s we usually stay in because the fireworks terrifies my dog and Hawaii on NYE is bonkers. But right after New Year’s is our daughter’s 6th birthday. SO he’s going to miss a lot of family moments and I know I’ll do the best I can…but sometimes the thought of doing everything alone is daunting and overwhelming. I just have to learn to ask for help more (and I have plenty help – my family lives 30 minutes away, I have friends too). It is what it is and I guess I should start planning for that Japan trip which we are tentatively planning for October 2023!

Anyway I hope your week was wonderful and you have a fabulous start of the new week – it’s the countdown to Christmas! 😆

Blog Posts:

It’s been a busy week! So I haven’t done much reading – hoping I can do much more reading this week but we shall see!

Books I Read:

Currently Reading:

Shows/Movies I Watched:

  • The Hills (Hulu) – I binged Laguna Beach and now been working my way through The Hills while working on my Etsy keychains. I think it’s crazy to look back and see the fashions of the early 2000’s. I’m SO old lol…
  • Harry & Meghan (Netflix) – I love their love story and really can the press just leave them alone? It’s awful to live that way…

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

My Favorite Book Covers of 2022

There were some really beautiful book covers in 2022!

My Favorite Book Covers of 2022

There are my favorite book covers from the books I managed to read in 2022:

And my favorite book covers from books I haven’t read but really want to:

What was your favorite book cover in 2022? Let me know in the comments!

Heartbreaker by. Sarah MacLean | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Heartbreaker (Hell’s Belles, #2)

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Author: Sarah MacLean

Pages: 391

Publication Date: 8/22/22

Categories: Romance, Historical Romance

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke’s secrets…and his heart.

A Princess of Thieves

Raised among London’s most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower—so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she’s the Matchbreaker…using her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the altar.

A King of Reputation

Henry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection. He has no time for the salacious gossip that arises every time the Matchbreaker ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable—and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close.

A Royal Match

When the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, it’s impossible for Clayborn to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him. But late-night carriage rides make for delicious danger…and soon Adelaide is uncovering Clayborn’s truths, throwing his well-laid plans into chaos…and threatening to steal his heavily guarded heart.

Content Warning: violence

I haven’t read a historical romance in SO long but Sarah MacLean is a must-read author for me so I had to read her newest book. This is what I thought:

+ It’s Sarah MacLean and she writes historical romance the way I like it and this book is no exception. There is swoon worthy romance, chemistry, spicy sexy scenes, humor and a fun cast of characters!

+ I love Adelaide as our heroine! She’s the thief of the Hell’s Belles with a shady past – I love that she’s from the streets and the daughter of a notorious leader of a gang. She’s smart, brave, and drives the Duke of Clayborn, Henry, crazy. She has her insecurities from growing up without parental love but Henry is going to show her in every way possible he’s noticed her for a long time. Henry is a stable love interest – he has the ducal airs but has a secret of his own. They are a perfect match!

+ The romance is fantastic and I like that Addie is the one who makes the first move. They have great chemistry and the scenes between them are filled with tension, heat and eventually love – it’s so well done. I loved it and it made me miss historical romance books! I love all the emotions and the room for humor even at a climactic scene.

+ I’m excited to read Imogen’s story! A plus-size, short, young woman with a love for explosives? Yes!

~ I did feel like we didn’t know much about Henry until we hear about his secret but it didn’t make my reading less enjoyable.

Tropes: close proximity

Spice Level: 🌶🌶🌶

Why you should read it:

  • this is historical romance at it’s finest, full of romance, chemistry, heat and a happy ever after
  • the cast of characters is so much fun – yes this is about Addie and Henry falling in love but the Hell’s Belles are an amazing group of young women
  • you read the first book in the series, Bombshell – this one is way better

Why you might not want to read it:

  • not into the Hell’s Belles series

My Thoughts:

This book is so much fun from the action, the romance, the sexy times and the cast of characters. I wasn’t sure if I was going to read this one because I liked Bombshell but I didn’t love it – but this one I love a lot. I felt all the emotions I want to feel when I read a historical romance. I love Addie and Henry as a couple. I’m looking forward to book three!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other books by this author that I have reviewed on my blog:

Bombshell by. Sarah MacLean | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Daring and the Duke | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: Brazen and the Beast ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Merry Little Meet Cute by. Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: A Merry Little Meet Cute

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Author: Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

Pages: 418

Publication Date: 9/19/22

Categories: Romance, Christmas, Holiday, Adult

Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—a steamy plus-size holiday rom-com about an adult film star who is semi-accidentally cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie, and the former bad-boy pop star she falls in love with.

Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn’t ask for more. But when Bee’s favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.

Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan’s promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he’ll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.

But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he’s a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around—and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.

And if Bee and Nolan can’t keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor.

Content Warning: fat phobia, internet slut-shaming

It was the cover for this book that attracted me. It made me wonder about the cutesy cartoon art but…with red trees? It seemed a bit unconventional for a holiday rom com to have so much red on the cover with pink – and the synopsis was different and intriguing. This is what I thought:

+ There are a few things I was happy to see in this book: a plus size character who is an adult film star, people that work in the adult film industry, bisexual main characters, it’s a very sex positive book. Both characters are likable and I also totally enjoy the subtle Christmas vibes to the book as well – it’s not a book surrounding Christmas but the fact that the story is based on filming a holiday movie around Christmas time gives it enough holiday vibes.

+ I thought the romance between Bee and Nolan was sweet and spicy. I think it was a good balance. I expect nothing less from an adult film star and a has-been bad boy from a boy band! They are both trying to break into different careers and don’t want to mess up. I think it helped that both characters were likable.

+ I thought the secondary characters were fun! I liked Sunny who is Bee’s best friend, Luca was funny and I even enjoyed Gretchen (the director). I think having Bee’s parents and Nolan’s family in the story also added the wholesome, holiday vibes to the story as well.

~ I didn’t mind the raunchiness between Bee and Nolan, but it would have been nice to feel more of a connection between them outside of the lust. I did like that they had a moment apart when the conflict of story came to a head, and it was cute when they are back together again – but I feel like I wanted more from the ending? In all fairness it keeps the light hearted, rom-com, Hallmark movie vibe (just with a little more sexiness). But to me the story started off good and then fizzled out at the end.

~ They only know each other for 2 weeks – so yes, it’s insta-love, just to warn those who aren’t into that.

Tropes: insta love, characters trying to change their public image, forced proximity, co-workers

Spice Level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶

Why you should read it:

  • you want to read a spicy holiday romance
  • Bee and Nolan’s romance and sexy times
  • it’s a light hearted rom-com

Why you might not want to read it:

  • it’s insta lust and love

My Thoughts:

As a holiday romance, I think it’s great how spicy and steamy it is. The characters are likable and it has enough Christmas vibes to add some wholesome element to the story even with all the raunchiness. I think the whole cast together was fun. Bee and Nolan are cute together but I did wish there was more of an emotional connection between them – but on the other hand I still enjoyed the lighthearted feel about this book

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

WWW Wednesday | 12/14/22

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

It’s the busy holiday month and we’ll see how much I can get done when it comes to reading and everything else. 😆

What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?

I’m excited I got this ebook on sale!

I’m working on arcs due in January but there is so much going on in my life right now I think I’ll come down to the wire on those. I also wanted to fit in some holidays reads so we’ll see how much I can fit into my schedule this month.

What are you reading right now?