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 with Black Book Covers
This week’s topic is “Favorite Words” but I wasn’t feeling it so I decided to do books with black book covers in honor of Halloween that is coming up.
I love a good dark black book cover with a little pop of color. It’s so good especially for the darker stories that we love to read.
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Coming of Age, Rival Familys, Culinary, Teen Readers
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Inkyard Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families’ feud.
Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas.
Lari Ramires has always known this to be true. In Olinda, Brazil, her family’s bakery, Salt, has been at war with the Molinas’ bakery across the street, Sugar, for generations. But Lari’s world turns upside down when her beloved grandmother passes away. On top of that, a big supermarket chain has moved to town, forcing many of the small businesses to close.
Determined to protect her home, Lari does the unthinkable—she works together with Pedro Molina to save both of their bakeries. Lari realizes she might not know Pedro as well as she thought—and she maybe even likes what she learns—but the question remains: Can a Ramires and a Molina truly trust one another?
Content Warning: death of loved one, illness
This was a fun, young adult romance book (leans more towards teen readers) about two rival families and they cook delicious Brazilian food! So if you like foodie romances, you will like this one. Here’s what did and didn’t work for me:
+ I love all the food and Brazilian culture. I like that this was also set in Brazil! Both families have bakeries and bad blood between them but eventually they work together to fight the big box chains encroaching on their towns. But if you love food romances, this has a lot of different foods I never heard of or even tried and it makes me want to go somewhere and try Brazilian food.
+ There is definitely a Romeo and Juliet feel to this book, minus the death of our MC’s but the rivalry is there. Lari and Pedro hate one another because of their family history. When they are put together in a cooking club at school, there is a lot of fighting between them at first but then eventually they start to open up and admit they have an attraction. I feel like the romance is perfect for teen readers.
+ Good side characters like the other kids in the cooking club.
~ I found Lari sometimes acting a bit childish, she fought with Pedro a lot and I didn’t quite connect to her. It took me awhile to get into the story. She was grieving her grandmother and also trying to figure out how to help her mom not lose their shop but still – at times she was always fighting Pedro too hard.
~ Speaking of childish, everyone seemed so volatile in this story. Pedro and Lari’s moms went at it all the time and you would think they would act a little bit better in front of their children. The fights became repetitive at some point and silly.
Tropes: rivals to lovers, enemies to lovers, family rivals, Romeo and Juliet inspired
Why you should read it:
it’s got Brazilian bakery goodies and culture, it’s set in Brazil also
rival families, enemies to lovers
story about family
Why you might not want to read it:
more geared towards teen readers
lots of dramatic family feud fighting – a bit repetitive
My Thoughts:
I loved that Salt and Sugar is centered around Brazilian food and that it’s set in Brazil. I definitely saw the Romeo and Juliet inspiration with the two feuding families but I did wish the fighting was taken down a notch. It’s a story about family, cooking, trying to have a better life and keeping the community authentic, while fighting the big corporate store. There’s also a little love story between Pedro and Lari and of course a happy ending. Overall I thought this one was a cute romance that teen readers would enjoy.
Title: House of Beating Wings (Kingdom of Crows #1)
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Format: ebook (borrowed)
Pages: 490
Publication Date: 9/27/22
Categories: New Adult, Fantasy, Fae, Romantasy, Magic
Free the crows, Fallon, and they will make you queen.
Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well . . . by all but one.
Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.
If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.
And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.
Content Warning:
I was in the mood for a romantasy so I picked this one up on Kindle Unlimited because I was curious about the crow storyline. Here’s what did and didn’t work for me:
+ I wanted a romantasy and I got it for sure. Seems like everyone in this kingdom wants to be with Fallon. There are a few guys she kisses in this book but we will see what happens in book two.
+ Fallon works at a tavern, which is cool that she helps her family out that way. She also has the power to bond with a water serpent animal. Her bond with the serpent is why the King wants her in the first place but apparently Fallon’s fate is tied to something else – waking up crows. I did like the secondary characters, especially Fallon’s best friends, they are fun.
+ The crows are fascinating, they seem to speak to Fallon through her mind. And the leader of the crows, Lore, is intriguing.
~ I think there may be a love triangle brewing? Fallon is in love with Dante, the prince and her old friend, but I do not like him at all. He’s the worst. She also spends some time with Antoni who’s slept with all her friends it seems, but she breaks his heart. And now Lore? Who knows what is going to happen there.
~ I felt like there were two separate stories going on. The first part was purely Fallon and her love-life. The second was her waking up the crows. So to me it felt a bit disjointed.
~ Fallon was not someone I connected with – actually she started to annoy me, maybe because she acted young and naive for her age. It could be because the story is disjointed or the writing isn’t my style?
Tropes: girl with secret powers, love triangle, family with secrets,
Spice Level: 🌶🌶
Why you should read it:
looking for a romantasy read which includes crows
interesting world-building
Why you might not want to read it:
annoying main character
My Thoughts:
My favorite thing about this book is probably Fallon’s best friends who brought humor into the story. I think the world building is interesting and it has so much potential but Fallon was annoying at times and I felt like the crows needed to be introduced a bit earlier into the story. For me the story didn’t flow well and I found myself skipping some parts to the end. I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the second book, if I do it’s mostly to find out all about this crow kingdom.
Did both my kids finally get through one week of school without being super sick? YES. Except my daughter’s cough (which I think is now due to allergies/post nasal drip) was bothering her at night. So I had her take Zyrtec, and set a cool-mist humidifier on at night – hoping it helps. Basically I’m just trying to fight it turning into some sinus infection or something. I just need her cough to go away, it’s worst at night. Since my son had to go to his annual physical on Saturday I asked if they could see my daughter too for her cough and she’s going to try another round of antibiotics plus Flonase to clear up all her congestion. There was a news segment here in Hawaii that the children’s hospital and pediatricians all over the state was seeing an unusual amount of sick kids so early in the year (instead of around Nov-Dec usually). And their doctor and I talked about it, so she confirmed that yes it was a rough September for lots of kids. Let’s hope this regimen works for my daughter. 🙏🏼
As for me I barely made it out of the week – I had what seemed to be a stomach bug/stomach flu whatever you want to call it. I had body aches, chills, an elevated temp, sweats, and diarrhea. Not fun! 😒 I’m not 100%, I’m getting there though. Main thing is that I can get up and still get through my daily routine/chores/errands/keep the household going – ya know? 😅 And I think our fridge is finally fixed! I hate to
Plus…it’s been hot this week! We had rain, which is nice but that means it’s been so humid. I blame the weather for messing with our sinuses and allergies. It sucks but just gotta keep going! I am really taking it week by week here lol.
Also – I started Christmas shopping! Have you guys started? I figure I start now because November is going to be crazy for me and then my hubby leaves for Okinawa, Japan in the second week of December. 😓Chills and Thrills ~ Spooky Book Season
My Singing Monsters – mostly to keep up with my kids who love this game
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!
Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Carrie Reimagined, Racism
When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation… Maddy did it.
An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she’s dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.
After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High’s racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school’s first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it’s possible to have a normal life.
But some of her classmates aren’t done with her just yet. And what they don’t know is that Maddy still has another secret… one that will cost them all their lives.
Content Warning: racism, bullying, child abuse
I haven’t read Carrie by Stephen King in years…and when I say years, I mean like 20 years ago! I also haven’t watched the original movie in so long. But it’s one of those iconic, memorable stories and movies because of that ending. When I saw this book cover I knew it would be a retelling or a reimagined Carrie, and by Tiffany D. Jackson, who is one of my favorite authors – I had to read it. Here’s what did and didn’t work for me:
+ Maddy has been passing off as white until one fateful day at school, it rains, and her hair puffs up into an afro. And they hate her for hiding that she is half black. She gets bullied by the white kids which starts the ball rolling onto the events that lead up to prom night. But no one knows Maddy’s home life – she is abused by her dad who believes in keeping her pure, hiding her hair, and having her watch shows from the 50’s- which made me remember the days in the 80’s as a child when I watched those shows like Leave it to Beaver! Talk about blast from the past.
+ This story is told from a podcast show as they review the events that happen and try to figure out why it happened. It is also told during when things are leading up to the prom. For the most part it worked out – because we get an insight into telekinesis and Maddy’s powers.
+ What I love about Tiffany D. Jackson’s books are that they are always thought provoking and talk about racism. In this story is Maddy and her being bi-racial and the way people react to her is telling in itself. She tackles issues about colorism and segregation. There is the white kids who bully Maddy, there is Kendrick’s sister who is mad that Maddy never claimed her blackness, and there is Wendy and Kendrick who try to make the whole situation right but it doesn’t turn out the way they planned. We learn about the town they live in and how they have segregated proms and after I did a quick google search because I was so curious, and apparently some towns in Georgia still have segregated proms! The article I read was printed in 2014, which kind of makes sense why The Weight of Blood takes place in 2014. I wondered about that year being used in the story!
+ I found all the characters so interesting. Maddy and her powers, Wendy and her goals to be with Kendrick (does she really love him or what he represents for her future?), Kendrick and the pressures he has to live up to, Kali who is proud to be black and is a fighter.
+ I love the lead up to prom and I think the author did such a great job with how it ends. There is carnage, there is chaos, and there is a whole town that is changed forever.
~ For the most part the podcast worked for me but I also wished the story was told without it because I felt like it interrupted the flow of the story. I understand that people were trying to analyze what happened though.
Tropes: girl with secret powers
Spice Level:
Why you should read it:
great reimagining of Carrie but with a twist, including racial issues that we can relate to today
it’s got a great blend of psychology horror: with Maddy’s home life, her powers and the racism in town
compelling characters, great story-telling, thought provoking
Why you might not want to read it:
not into Carrie
My Thoughts:
I say this over and over but I am such a big fan of Tiffany D. Jackson’s work. Her books are always thought provoking. The fact that racism in itself is part of the horror in this story makes a big impact. I love how the story leads up to the classic ending that is similar to Carrie. Only thing I wish was different was the whole podcast element because I think the story would have been great without it. Other than that, this was an entertaining book with that classic Carrie ending.
I don’t read many spooky books. I mean I do not really read horror, it’s lite horror at best lol. But I love a good thrilling book once in awhile and especially during spooky season! Here are some thrilling books I’ve enjoyed:
Chills and Thrills ~ Spooky Book Season
Here are a few I want to read:
What are some spooky books or thrillers you are looking forward to read this month?
Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
The new groundbreaking queer thriller from New York Times bestselling and Edgar-award Winning author Courtney Summers.
When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley’s older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.
A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, Sadie, I’m the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?
Content Warning: sexual assault, rape, murder, grooming
There are some books I have no clue how to rate because I hated every part of the subject matter of this book and yet the writing is so captivating that I read it in one sitting. I want to call this book something like realistic horror because all of it happens in our world way too much. This is what did and didn’t work for me:
+ I read Sadie and loved it because it’s an important read, it broke my heart. I cheered Sadie on. This book is a different beast altogether and asks the question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it? The one time Georgia is told she is beautiful by a rich and powerful man she is obsessed with this idea to belong in his world. The world of Aspera, a resort that caters to the elite, the very rich, the very famous. But even though her mom told her it’s not the kind of place Georgia should aspire to, she defiantly reaches for the dream her mom tells her to gorget. Beauty is her power and she wants to belong. Georgia finds out a few things when she starts working at Aspera…and its horrific.
+ This is not an easy read. It’s uncomfortable and I was disgusted throughout the whole thing but it’s compelling too. I was looking over at my daughter wondering how I can protect her from being prey. There is lots of triggering topics in this book: sexual assault, rape, murder, sex trafficking, a boys club who can do whatever they want and get away with it. Think Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s of the world….this is the world Georgia has made herself covet without really knowing. She doesn’t see what is behind the glitz and glamour…and only sees when it’s too late. And she’s a teenager! That’s the crazy thing about this whole story, she’s a kid!
+ There is a murder that needs to be solved that Georgia is tied to because she found the body. But there are things that the murderer has taken from Georgia that night when he hit her bike with his car. So does that mean he is out there and coming back for her? There were some moments when the mystery of the killer is out there where the story had some suspenseful moments. But the really scary parts of this books is plain to see and in vivid detail.
+ There is two bright spots in Georgia’s life. Her half brother Tyler who is trying his best to keep her safe as best he can. And Nora, the murdered victim’s sister who because a rock for Georgia to lean on, no matter what.
~ There were so many times….so many times I wanted to shake Georgia. She seems naive but it’s mostly because she doesn’t want to see that all the glitter isn’t gold. But the danger she is in…the things she does to accept her Aspera goals. I kept wanting to tell her it is NOT worth it. None of it is and how didn’t she know she was in danger when a way older man is doing things to her…but that’s what grooming is. Still – I was just so mad.
~ And why wouldn’t her mom and brother just tell her what happened to her mom at Aspera. Like tell the girl so she would stop wanting to be an Aspera girl. At least tell the truth. So much kept happening to Georgia and she just kept jumping back into the fire because she was obsessed with Aspera. Did I say I wanted to shake her?
~ The ending didn’t feel as impactful as I was hoping. But when I did sit and think about it, I can see why it ended like that. Georgia isn’t the type of girl who fights back, as we can see throughout the whole story, her whole world was banking on being an Aspera girl. But on the other hand, Nora is the girl who is a fighter. We have a Georgia and Nora in all of us.
Tropes: girl who let’s things happen until it’s almost too late
Spice Level:
Why you should read it:
important story about balance of power in society: class and gender. It brings up sexual assault and violence.
the question is the thing to keep in mind while you read this: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?
Why you might not want to read it:
triggering story – triggers EVERYWHERE. Rape, sexual assault, murder, grooming…such a hard and uncomfortable story to read.
My Thoughts:
Read it for the issues it brings up, but don’t expect to feel good after this story. I think it’s safe to say this author tackles some hard subjects in her books. I like the question the book poses to the reader and I hope as the book hopes by the end…that the answer is NO, we won’t accept the world this way.
The Project – Audiobook – DNF, only because I really suck at paying attention to audiobooks. I’ll have to go back and finish it by reading a copy of it. I got 50% through though and still remember what the story is about.
I’ve read a a few books this year that featured food and cooking. So I wanted to list them in a post. Let me know in the comments if you read any of these or if you have any to recommend that I can check out next year!
Food and Romance
Salt and Sugar by. Rebecca Carvalho is set in Brazil and is the story about two rival bakeries. There’s a Romeo Juliet theme to the story, minus the tragedies. Lots of fights between two families though.
Ramón and Julieta by. Alana Quintana Albertson – another Romeo and Juliet theme story but this time with two rival families who make tacos. It has rivalry, and lots of passion (this one is not YA).
The Donut Trap by. Julie Tieu – this one is set in a donut bakery but I don’t know that the family loved making donuts. It was a business that helped an immigrant family achieve their American dream. But I liked how it represents Cambodian, Chinese and Vietnamese culture and the immigrant family experience.
I love how diverse this list is and I hope to be adding more to it next year! Have you read any of these or planning to?
Feel free to use any of my graphics in your post, or create your own!
Tag 7 other people at the end of your post, and let them know you’ve tagged them.
A laugh-out-loud, opposites attract romance about three of the world’s most beloved C’s: Christmas, Coffee, and Cats.
Veterinarian and animal lover Kara Ingalls needs a Christmas miracle. Opening the Meow and Furrever Cat Café to find loving homes for adorable, adoptable cats was a dream come true—but with more cats than customers, it’s quickly turning into a nightmare. If Kara can’t figure out some way to get the café out of the red, it won’t last past the holidays.
Marketing guru Ben Reese may be annoyingly smart and frustratingly bossy, but when he hatches a plan to put the café in the “green” by Christmas, Kara realizes that she’d be a fool to turn down his help. And so what if he turns out to be an excellent problem solver and nerdy-hot—he can’t even handle fostering one little kitten. She needs to keep their relationship professional and focus on saving the cafe.
But if Ben and Kara can set aside their differences—and find homes for all the cats by Christmas—they might discover that, by risking their hearts, they’ll have their own purr-fect holiday . . . together.
Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.
To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets, and they know her.
But as the clock ticks down to the moment when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help—and whose presence in Hawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player.
Secrets upon secrets. Riddles upon riddles. In this game, there are hearts and lives at stake—and there is nothing more Hawthorne than winning.
Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organized, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.
But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own.
Fortunately, her friends have an idea: together they devise a series of outrageous challenges for Freya to complete at each event, designed to distract her from Matthew and what might have been. From getting stuck in an old church bathroom and needing to be rescued by the vicar to making out with a barman at a French chateau, Freya realizes that despite herself, she might just be having fun.
By the time the final wedding arrives, she will discover that the road to a happy ending sometimes has unexpected detours, that “I do” is only the beginning––and that perhaps her own love story isn’t over just yet.
Willow has never felt like she belonged anywhere and is convinced that the only way to find a true home is to travel the world. But her plans to act on her dream are put on hold when her aloof and often absent mother drags Willow to Salem, Massachusetts, to wrap up the affairs of an aunt Willow didn’t even know she had. An aunt who may or may not have been a witch.
There, she meets Mason, a loner who’s always felt out of place and has been in and out of foster homes his entire life. He’s been classified as one of the runaways, constantly searching for ways to make it back to his mom; even if she can’t take care of him, it’s his job to try and take care of her. Isn’t it?
Naturally pulled to one another, Willow and Mason set out across Salem to discover the secret past of Willow’s mother, her aunt, and the ambiguous history of her family. During all of this, the two can’t help but act on their natural connection. But with the amount of baggage between them—and Willow’s growing conviction her family might be cursed—can they manage to hold onto each other?
From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a poignant and romantic novel about two teens trying to find their place in the world after being unceremoniously dragged to Salem, Massachusetts, for the summer.
For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela’s role as head baker at their panadería, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything—including Lila herself—fell apart.
Worried about Lila’s mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare to Lila…until she meets Orion Maxwell.
A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester’s drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila’s mind—one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind.
Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.
Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.
Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.
But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Penguin Publishing Group for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Elinor Noel – Nory for short – is quite content running her second-hand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So, when her oldest friends invite their school gang to spend the days leading up to their wedding together at the school castle, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.
The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the head gardener with nothing but contempt for the ‘snobby prep school kids’, the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac over the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy who used to throw mud at her and her posh friends.
As Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, pressures mount on all sides and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk…
Content Warning: mention of suicide, cheating
I was expecting a light-hearted Christmas romance but I got something a little bit more than that. Here’s what I think about this book:
+ It starts off in a cozy bookstore, I got the holiday feels right away just from that alone but then it moves on to a castle in the English countryside where Nory’s friend is going to get married at. It’s a reunion of Nory and her boarding school friends and the castle is in her hometown. This is where she runs into Isaac and an attraction between them sparks.
+ There is a big cast of characters because we get to meet Nory’s friends from school. I thought they were a fun group and I loved how they interacted with one another. Everyone had such different personalities, they each stood out.
+ I thought the love story was very sweet. Isaac is someone from Nory’s hometown and past and it was pretty funny how they reunite again.
~ I was expecting light hearted but got a book with some heavy topics like a friend who committed suicide and even Nory’s past scandal of sleeping with one of her friends while drunk (and he’s married). There is also the subject of classism throughout the story. Nory went to a boarding school and all her friends are rich, compared to Isaac and everyone at home who isn’t rich. So there was a lot of judging going around. There was a lot of friend drama, maybe too much drama, but I was hoping for a simple, sweet Christmas love story.
~ The story starts off in a cozy bookstore that Nory owns and then moves to the castle but where is the Christmassy vibes? I felt like it had Christmas stuff near the end of the book but I was expecting it from beginning to end.
Tropes: childhood acquaintances to lovers
Spice Level: 🌶
Why you should read it:
fun interactions between a big group of friends, humor and drama
a cozy bookstore and a beautiful castle in the English countryside, some Christmas vibes
sweet love story between Nory and Isaac
Why you might not want to read it:
needs more Christmas
too much drama between the friends and some heavy topics – reads more like women’s fiction than romance
My Thoughts:
I struggled to get through this one even though the beginning was fine. I loved the beginning because it starts off in a cozy bookstore and then at a castle and we get to meet Nory’s friends. Someway in the middle of the story, I started to lose interest. I wanted more of Isaac and Nory but I felt like a lot of the friend drama got in the way of that love story. I wish it was more Christmassy also. So it didn’t work for me because I was expecting a light-hearted story but if you like romance with a little something more, then you will enjoy this one.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 