Goodreads Monday: The Rom-Com Agenda

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: The Rom-Com Agenda

Author: Jayne Denker

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 1/10/23

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:

Vibrantly funny, endearingly sweet, and a love letter to all things rom com, Jayne Denker’s The Rom Com Agenda is a story of two people finding love right when they least expect it.

You know how the story’s supposed to go…but love makes its own plans.

STEP 1: Find yourself
Leah Keegan is used to being alone, especially after taking care of her sick foster mother for the past year. But now there’s nothing keeping her in the sweet town of Willow Cove. It’s time to move on. Again.

STEP 2: Win back the one who got away
Eli Masterson thought he and Victoria were meant to be together until she decided to jet off to Rome for a year. Eli is determined to win her back. But how?

STEP 3: Become a romantic hero
Changing Eli’s physical appearance is easy, but to turn Eli into the sophisticated-yet-vulnerable ideal man, his girl pals force him to watch classic rom-coms. And take notes.

STEP 4: Fall in love?
Inadvertently drawn into the makeover scheme, Leah ends up being Eli’s guide through the wild world of meet-cutes and grand gestures. Even though she believes Eli doesn’t need to change a thing about himself. Even though she just might be falling for Eli . . . and Eli falling for her.

“The perfect swoony, slow burn, sentimental romantic comedy that we all deserve .” –New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay

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

Begin Again by. Emma Lord | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Begin Again

Author: Emma Lord

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 1/23/23

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, New Adult, College

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.

But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.

But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.

Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again.

Content Warning: grief, death of a parent

I am a fan of Emma Lord ever since Tween Cute! I think it’s safe to say she’s an auto-read author for me. Here’s what I thought about Begin Again:

+ I feel like there isn’t enough books set in college and I loved that this one is, with Andie entering her dream college as a freshman transfer. So she didn’t get in right away, worked hard to get in and did it on her own merit which is admirable. And we watch Andie try to keep up with classes, class activities, have a social life and she struggles, which is so relatable. It reminded me of being in college and the struggles of being away from home, old friends, making new friends and enjoying college life.

+ Andie is an interesting character because she is grieving her mom, has a strained relationship with her father, and was basically raised by her awesome grandma’s after her mom’s death and things fall apart. She’s a capable young woman, who wants to make her mother proud but is struggling to find her own way. She’s a “fix-it” person because she hides from problems she doesn’t want to face but I found that relatable. The other characters like Milo, Shay and Valeria were wonderful.

+ So Andie has a boyfriend she’s known since childhood – they have a close bond until college happens. Andie meets Milo, her RA, and their friendship grows while Andie is learning more about herself and her relationship with her boyfriend, Connor. On the other Milo is dealing with his own heartbreak and family drama. I like how their friendship grows into something else – it’s very sweet. They make a good couple.

+ Things got emotional for Andie and her father at the end of this book and I almost cried. I love how it’s more than a story about a girl going to college and wanting to honor her mom’s memory. I could feel her emotional struggles, and it was so nice to see her make friends who had her back and how in the end a conversation with her dad really helps heals some festering wounds between them.

~+ The only thing that maybe would bother some readers is how Andie has a boyfriend but starts falling for Milo. Honestly, having been in a long distance college relationship before – I related to her feeling 100%. How do you quit someone you’ve known your whole life and made future plans with? And yet…how do you not if it means being happier with who you are? I’m glad it’s a realistic situation.

Tropes: first year in college

Why you should read it:

sweet romance between Andie and Milo
set in college, first year transfer student, realistic situations – challenges, making friends, falling in love
emotional story about Andie, her mom’s memory and healing with her dad

Why you might not want to read it:

Andie does have a boyfriend but I think things stay pretty friendly and innocent between her and Milo until she ends things with Connor.

My Thoughts:

I loved this one! I just liked seeing Andie grow and shed the things that she didn’t need to hang onto (Connor) and try and find herself at the college of her dreams. Her meeting Milo was icing on the cake because how amazing is he? I love that they both had their own issues to deal with and they do before coming together. There was an emotional scene between Andie and her dad that almost made me cry. I think this had a little bit of everything, a character with growth, new friends, college fun and struggles, family issues and romance. I will continue to read whatever this author writes!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Weekly Wrap Up | 1/1/23 | Happy New Year!

Aloha friends!

I was kind of relieved the holiday rush of Christmas was over. We made it through Hanukkah and Christmas without my hubby – the kids survived it and I was glad. We use face-time with him a lot so it’s been really nice for us.

My family (parents and sister and her family) slept over my house on New Year’s Eve because their neighborhood always sounds like a war zone before and after midnight. I feel so bad for their dog and all the pets that get traumatized by fireworks. My neighborhood isn’t as loud and it helps that my house is insulated – so loud bombs/bangs are a bit muffled.

There was some bad news to end 2022. My father-in-law unexpectedly passed away on 12/28/22. He did have neck surgery 2 weeks ago and was dealing with some undiagnosed UTI issues I think but he was unresponsive on Wednesday morning. Thing is my hubby’s step-mom called him frantic because his dad kept trying to go to the bathroom and falling over. He said he was fine and didn’t need to go to a doctor or ER. Clearly he was not fine – that was my hubby’s last time talking to him. So it’s been….quite a week. My hubby flies out to Los Angeles today (Monday Okinawa time) for the funeral. I cannot believe the amount of flying he’s done in the past 6 weeks alone. Poor guy.

Today is my nephew’s 15th birthday. And then my daughter is turning 6 in 2 days. We’re having a party on Saturday and whew am I trying to conjure up energy and positivity!

I’m just trying to hold it all together but I can’t believe this is how 2023 is starting. I pray for patience and peace. I pray for strength and good health. My husband gave me a gift card for a massage so when I get a chance, I’m definitely going to use it!

I hope ALL of you have a Happy New Year!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Currently Reading:

Shows/Movies I Watched:

NFL Football

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!

2022 | A Year in Review

It’s that time again in the year, the end of the year where I look back and see how much I’ve read during the year. The only place I track my reading is on Goodreads so this is what Goodreads says I’ve read:

Ever since I’ve become a blogger I hit 150++ in books read for the year. Before that I think I barely hit 100 because I re-read my faves a lot and mostly, ONLY read popular hyped books. This hasn’t always been the case…I’ll say this was the case since Twilight and The Da Vinci Code came out. Before that I read every genre out there.

But now with the blog I’ve gravitated towards Young Adult and Adult Romance. I do miss re-reading my faves and branching off into new genres but lately I feel like I have no time.

Of course Sarah J Mass will always have the highest page count of the year lol. I did more reading with my daughter this year because she’s in Kinder and she has to read and log books so I did add a few books we read together.

Wow, Where the Crawdad’s Sing was shelved 3m++ times?! That’s crazy. My rating average stayed the same as last year and here I thought I was being less generous this year.

I was hoping to do some detailed review but honestly these last few weeks have been busy for me and with the kids on winter break and my husband calling from overseas constantly lol…I feel like I have no time to myself except when I go to bed. Sigh and I haven’t been able to finish a book because a few pages in and I knock out. So no detailed review this year, guess I’ll add that to my list goal for next year!

How was your reading year?

Monthly Wrap Up | December 2022

December started with recovering from our vacation, recovering from catching a cold on vacation – then of course my daughter caught my cold or another cold from school. My husband was busy was packing up to leave for Okinawa, Japan and me trying to figure out everything what I needed to get in order. Plus Christmas shopping! Ugh…I ordered my photo Christmas cards the second week of December and apparently they won’t get to me until 12/23/22 or later LOL. Oh well – so I didn’t read much this month but that’s okay. Here’s what I posted this month:

What I Posted: 8 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

ARCS I READ FOR FUTURE POST: 0

I’m working on arcs and hope to be finish with my January arcs SOON. 😬 At least that’s what I’m hoping for…

Friday I’m in Love by. Camryn Garrett | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Friday I’m in Love

Author: Camryn Garrett

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 1/10/23

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Teens, LGBT+, Coming of Age

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen but what if Mahalia had a Coming Out Party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, black joy and queer pride.

Mahalia Harris wants.

She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend Naomi.
She wants the super cute new girl Siobhan to like her back.
She wants a break from worrying–about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it.

Then inspiration strikes: It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a Coming Out Party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms.

The idea lights a fire in her, and soon Mahalia is scrimping and saving, taking on extra hours at her afterschool job, trying on dresses, and awkwardly flirting with Siobhan, all in preparation for the Coming Out of her dreams. But it’s not long before she’s buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and enough drama to make her English Lit teacher blush. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia’s party be over before it’s even begun?

A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you.

Content Warning: racism, n word use in classroom setting, parental issues

What drew me to this book was the colorful, vibrant cover. The synopsis sounded intriguing and here is what I thought about the book:

+ This is a great book for teens. Mahalia has turned sixteen but instead of a big sweet sixteen party that her mom can’t afford she thinks of doing a coming out party instead. And she will save up her paychecks from her part-time job to be able to afford the party. I love that Mahalia has a plan, she works, she goes to school, and she helps her mom who is a single mother.

+ Mahalia is queer and I like how we get to see her crush on a girl and see how it goes. The representation in the story is fantastic. I loved the playlist Mahalia makes for Siobhan – it gave a deeper glimpse into Mahalia’s personality.

+ I like that Mahalia is sixteen, and acts sixteen. She’s going through a lot of teen related things like trouble in her friendship, crushing on someone and hoping something happens, stress from trying to save money for a party and helping her mom out when money gets tight. She’s very relatable! Her life isn’t perfect but this book was all about hope.

+ I thought the romance was cute – Siobhan is the girl Mahalia is crushing but she has a boyfriend. It’s very confusing for both of them but I think it’s realistic.

~ Adults may find this book a bit cheesy but remember this is for teens and I think it’s perfect for that age group.

~ There is the use of the N word when Mahalia’s class reads a classic novel in class but I like that it brought up race issues that Mahalia has to go through, such as feeling uncomfortable in class

Tropes:

Why you should read it:

a great coming of age and coming out story for a black, queer sixteen year old
Mahalia is relatable – she goes to school, works part time, and helps her mom out – she’s also falling in love and having some challenges with her bestie
perfect book for it’s target audience

Why you might not want to read it:

might read too young for adults — because it is targeted for teens

My Thoughts:

I think teens would love this book because Mahalia is a relatable sixteen year old. She deals with typical issues that a queer, black girl who is being raised by a single mother, would go through. Mahalia wants to through a coming out party, she wants the girl who she likes to be into her too and she wants her best friend to be on the same page as her. There are some challenges she deals with but I think she handles each situation very well. I like that she was putting in the work to throw her own party. I thought the tone of this book was hopeful, and I love the happy ending where Mahalia gets to celebrate how amazing she is.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon

Let’s Talk Bookish: 2022 Reading & Blogging Reflections | 12/30/22

Let’s Talk Bookish is a bookish meme that was created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and now is hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, where each Friday, bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week! Definitely check out her blog for more bookish content plus more Let’s Talk Bookish topics and the schedule.

This week’s topic is:

December 30: 2022 Reading & Blogging Reflections

How many books did you read in 2022?

According to Goodreads and I think it’s mostly up to date – it says I read 116 books!

Did you meet your reading goals?

Yes, my goal was 52 books.

What were some of your favorites?

What were your least favorite books you read this year?

How did you feel about your blogging in 2022?

I think I felt more comfortable. This is my 4th year blogging I believe and I felt more sure of what I wanted to do and what posts I wanted to make. I feel like I found a good rhythm and schedule for posting

What are your favorite posts you wrote in 2022?

I don’t have a favorite post but this are the top 5 of my most viewed posts in 2022:

The Final Gambit by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review

10 Book Quotes from Book Lovers by. Emily Henry| Top Ten Tuesday | 5/24/22

Reminders of Him by. Colleen Hoover | Book Review

Kingdom of the Feared by. Kerri Maniscalco | Book Review

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review

What are some of your favorite posts from the community that you read this year?

Let’s Talk Bookish: Do Bloggers Owe Their Readers and Vice Versa? by. DiniPandaReads — love all her Let’s Talk Bookish posts

Birthstone Book Covers: November! by. booksarethenewblack — this was a fun book tag to do

The Modern-Day Christmas Song Book Tag by. acereader — another book tag I want to do

2023 BOOK RELEASES by. KristinKravesBooks — she has great booktube videos!

TOP TEN TUESDAY – BOOKS I WANT YOU TO GET FOR CHRISTMAS by. birdiesbooknook- another fun blog with great posts!

There were so many favorites posts but I have so little time to find them on here lol…but definitely check these blogs out!

Reading Goals of 2022

I didn’t have big goals for 2022 but let’s take a look and see if I actually met them:

Read LESS. Read what I want to read and make sure I have enough time to finish it especially if they are arcs. I read about 13-15 books a month and it would be nice to get it down to 8-10 at least.

NO – I did not consistently meet this goal because I ended up reading 170+ this year. My goal was 52 but more like 100 max. 😆 The only months I met this goal was the last 2 months of 2022.

Keep my book buying ban still because I save money when I borrow it from the library and 2022 is about controlling my finances.

YES/NO – I was so good this year. I did buy books but they were severely discounted. So I did save money, but I still bought books. This goal is continuing on in 2023 because I have trips to plan!

Cut down on NetGalley requests.

YES – I stuck to this one I think because there was less catching up for me to do.

Have the guts to DNF more books that I’m struggling through.

YES – I did DNF more but not as much as I was thinking I would.

I think I did pretty good on my goals! I still want to cut down on the amount of books I read. Just so I can find that enjoyment of reading I used to have when I wasn’t a book blogger. I still love it but it does feel like work sometimes to finish arcs. Anyway, I’ll figure out a good balance someday – maybe 2023 will be that year!

Did you meet your reading goals?

2022 | A Year in Review

But now with the blog I’ve gravitated towards Young Adult and Adult Romance. I do miss re-reading my faves and branching off into new genres but lately I feel like I have no time.

Wow, Where the Crawdad’s Sing was shelved 3m++ times?! That’s crazy. My rating average stayed the same as last year and here I thought I was being less generous this year.

How was your reading year?

WWW Wednesday | 12/28/22

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?

I think I’ve officially slowed down for the year. I mean there is only a few days left of 2022 and there’s no book I’m pressing to finish before it ends. What I am trying to work on are arcs that are due in January and February. And some pleasure reading from the books I treated myself to, One Dark Window being one of them.

I’ll have more time to read when my kids go back to school next week Thursday (maybe) – I have a birthday party to throw. Maybe after that I’ll have more free time. But I can’t believe 2023 is already starting off so quickly. 😩 I also possibly have a Okinawa trip to plan soon so…I’m a bit overwhelmed lol. Hope you are getting to unwind a bit before the New Year!