BLOG TOUR} The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer | ARC Review

Welcome to the blog tour for The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Matzah Ball

Author: Jean Meltzer

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 9/28/21

Publisher: MIRA

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Holiday Romance, Hanukkah Romance, Second Chance Romance

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

Thank you to MIRA for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oy! to the world

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach.

But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not Christmas. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg.

Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.

This Hanukkah romance was a first for me. I’ve never read one but for the most part I enjoyed this one.

I like the representations that are in the story. Rachel has myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome and it is explained very well and I really got the sense of how it affected her whole life. I learned so many things about Jewish culture in this book, and it was kind of neat to see Rachel and Jacob’s different perspectives on observing certain rules and traditions.

The romance is very sweet – I mean, it started from when they were twelve! It’s a childhood camp crush that turns them into enemies somewhat but wow can these two hold grudges.

I liked that we saw Rachel finding the beautiful things about Hanukkah. She’s Jewish but is secretly in love with Christmas, obsessed with Christmas more like – and she works through some of that. As for Jacob, he has some family issues to deal with and I love his grandmother, such a sweet and fearless woman!

Content Warning: parent abandonment, death of a parent, chronic pain

There are some phrases I found throughout the book that made me cringe. Maybe it was trying too hard with the humor, maybe it is Rachel’s personality? Whatever it is, it didn’t work for me.

Their “romance” started at twelve and they break each other’s hearts (as much as you can at camp when you are 12!) and still hold a grudge almost 18 years later – honestly?…that seemed pretty immature to me and unbelievable. I guess it’s supposed to come off sweet and innocent? But I wasn’t feeling it. Also, I felt like there was no chemistry between them until very late into the book, so yes this is a very slow burn. The miscommunication between them totally bugged me.

Jacob, no matter how handsome and rich he is, didn’t do it for me. I thought he was so clueless not only about Rachel and romance, but even about event planning! He’s supposedly this amazing party organizer but so many things didn’t work when he was planning the Matzah Ball – where are his work connections? He’s in NYC, I would think he’d know how to get the best decorations for a party. I was confused, he can’t mess up that bad, can he? But he did. I was not impressed. That wasn’t the only inconsistent thing in the book, Rachel has CFS but the ending was over the top with her running and climbing and sneaking into the event to make her grand gesture to Jacob. I mean…she must have tanked a lot of red bull to do that, but isn’t the consequences on her body going to be awful? I guess he was worth the pain to her.

Why you should read it:

CFS representation, chronic illness
learn about Jewish customs and Hanukkah
you like sweet holiday romances

Why you might not want to read it:

immature grudge between the couple
lacking chemistry between couple

My Thoughts:

If you like Hallmark movies, you will like this book. It has a slow burn romance, some wild shenanigans, a man going through some emotional family issues, and a Jewish woman living with a chronic illness and secretly loving Christmas, and a heartbreak judge that’s been held onto for 18 years. I had a few issues with it, especially that the couple lacked chemistry and I want lots of it in a romance book. Also that the grudge between the two is really silly. The best parts of the story was learning about Jewish customs and chronic fatigue syndrome. The family aspects of the book really stood out.

📚~ Yolanda

About the Author:

Author Jean Meltzer studied dramatic writing at NYU Tisch, and served as creative director at Tapestry International, garnering numerous awards for her work in television, including a daytime Emmy. Like her protagonist, Jean is also a chronically-ill and disabled Jewish woman. She is an outspoken advocate for ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), has attended visibility actions in Washington DC, meeting with members of Senate and Congress to raise funds for ME/CFS. She inspires 9,000 followers on WW Connect to live their best life, come out of the chronic illness closet, and embrace the hashtag #chronicallyfabulous. Also, while she was raised in what would be considered a secular home, she grew up kosher and attended Hebrew School. She spent five years in Rabbinical School.

Author Website | Facebook: @JeanMeltzerAutho | Instagram: @JeanMeltzer | Goodreads

Goodreads Choice Award Nominees That I’ve Read in 2021

It’s that time of year again where Goodreads readers vote for their favorite books of 2021. I saw a few bloggers posting about the books they’ve read on the list and so I was curious to see which books I’ve read in each category as well. Some categories I had a 0 since I stick to certain genres – so let’s see what I read in 2021:

What I’ve Read~

Fiction:

Historical Fiction:

Fantasy:

Romance:

Best Debut Novel:

Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction:

Best Young Adult Fiction:

I think the Romance category had the most titles that are still on my TBR list. As you can see I tend to read YA Fantasy/Fiction but I try to mix it up with Romance and Historical Fiction and it’s nice to see some of the books I’ve read make the list!

Did any books you read this year end up on the nominees list? Let me know in the comments!

~Yolanda

The Highland Fling by. Meghan Quinn | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Highland Fling

Author: Meghan Quinn

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 349

Publication Date: 8/24/21

Publisher: Montlake

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Adult

In this steamy tale by USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn, an American searching for her purpose escapes to a Scottish town but finds more questions than answers when she meets a brooding yet handsome handyman.

Freshly fired from her third job in a row, Bonnie St. James has lost her way. So when she and her best friend stumble upon a “help wanted” post to run a coffee shop in the Scottish Highlands, they apply on a whim. Who knows? Maybe traveling to a new place is just what she needs to figure out her next move.

When the friends arrive in the tiny idyllic town of Corsekelly, they instantly fall for the gorgeous Highland landscape and friendly townspeople. But Bonnie finds a less-than-warm welcome in Rowan MacGregor, the rugged local handyman. Busy wrestling his own demons, Rowan’s in no mood to deal with the quirky American—even if she is a bonny lass.

As Bonnie and Rowan’s paths inevitably cross, insults—and sparks—fly. Can the pair build on their similarities to help each other find purpose and direction…and maybe romance too? Or will their passionate tempers fling them apart?

I have never read a Meghan Quinn book even though I see her all over Amazon! I was in the mood for a romance and one on kindle unlimited since I pay for a subscription. I’m glad I gave this one a try.

The first thing I loved was the friendship between Bonnie and Dakota. You get the impression right away they are more than best friends, more like sisters. They are in their mid-twenties, Bonnie is trying to find her path but Dakota is pretty much set in hers. At Dakota’s insistence they apply for a job in the highlands of Scotland to run a coffee shop for six months. What seems like a joint venture becomes something more of a growing experience for their friendship, they grow apart and then come back together even stronger. I also liked the LGBT+ representation with Dakota. She meets someone and has her own growth with overcoming her past relationship that really hurt her.

As for the main romance of the story, Bonnie meets Rowan, who is this gruff Scotsman who aggravates her! But we get two perspectives here, so we can see how Bonnie gets under his skin also. Their back and forth teasing and antagonizing is a slow burn, with some funny moments, but when they finally get together, it’s hot! They do face some challenges in their new relationship but this is where the story brings us to an emotional level I wasn’t expecting.

Bonnie and Rowan can relate to one another because they are both people who are trying to figure out their future. Both want more out of their lives. Bonnie wants to find out what she’s good at, Rowan knows what he is good at but never had his father’s approval – actually he deals with a lot of family emotional drama under the surface. I thought the book was just about two people flirting and aggravating one another until the story got deep with Rowan’s family history and on the other side of the coin Bonnie goes through some really challenging moments with her friendship with Dakota. I enjoyed the growth from all of them a lot.

Content Warnings: illness, grief

Bonnie was a bit too much at times – she loves cake and she hasn’t had sex in awhile. She’s very quirky, very much Dakota’s opposite. I like that she loves to have a good time but at times she just doesn’t know how to back off so her personality could get cringy at times.

For the most part of the book, the story is light hearted, Bonnie is trying to find her way and keeps running into Rowan. But the end gets into a sad mood when Rowan goes through some personal stuff. I was not expecting it. I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the beginning.

Why you should read it?

hot scotsman and beauty of the highlands
enemies to lovers romance
it’s starts off light hearted but story gets emotional

Why you might not want to read it?

Bonnie’s quirky personality may turn you off

My Thoughts:

I thought this story was cute, once I got used to Bonnie’s personality. I enjoyed Bonnie and Dakota’s friendship and adventure in Scotland. And it’s awesome that Dakota’s love life could share in the spotlight too because it is a F/F relationship. Bonnie and Rowan’s relationship was also fun especially when they were aggravating one another, but their romance definitely faces challenges when they face their personal demons. I didn’t expect this to be very emotional but I was surprised by the ending and how much the main characters grow. I’d definitely read another book from this author in the future.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Black Friday | Kindle Book Deals | 2021

Who is shopping on Black Friday? I’m not…at least not physically in stores because I’m too impatient and tired for it. I used to do when I was younger and had no kids but now all my money goes to them haha. So I was minding my business and then went to Amazon just to see what kind of Black Friday deals they have on books and I found a few!

Here are a few deals if you are a Kindle reader:

Another website I like to go to for book deals (hardcover and paperback) is BookOutlet. But I haven’t bought physical books in awhile because I have no space for them! If I see something for a good price though, I can’t usually pass them out. Did you get anything on sale this week? Happy Shopping!

Thanksgiving Book Tag 2021

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Whether you celebrate this holiday or not, I am thankful for your continued support of my little book blog. 🧡🤎

I saw this perfect thanksgiving book tag on a fabulous blog called I’m All Booked Up and the original tag creator is from Anna’s Book Nook. So go ahead and check out these great blogs. Let’s get into it:

Friends and Family: A Book with Characters that Feel Like Family

I feel like Lara Jean’s family and friends are my own because this story is so familiar to me.

Fallen Leaves: A Book that Fell Flat (didn’t meet your expectations.)

It wasn’t bad, but I just was expecting more. I definitely had high expectations for this one.

Thanksgiving Dinner: A Book You Want to Read Every Year During This Season

Just beautiful writing that gives me all the feels.

Turkey: A Book With a Bird in It

One of the books I wanted to read this year but never got to it. 🙁

Ham: A Book that Made Your Eyes Glaze Over (Boring.)

I expected a little more from this one and for some reason came away bored with the story. It has such a good premise though – not sure if I was just not in the mood for it. Wait when that happens!

Dinner Rolls: A Book that Melted Your Heart and Made You Feel Warm

Emilia and Wrath together are fire. lol…so they melted me and kept me warm.

Mashed Potatoes: A Book With a White Cover

Gravy: A Book You’re not Totally Sure Why You Love, but You Do

I do know why I love it but when you think of the premise of a young woman and her aunts trying to hide a dead body for a whole day and at a wedding of all places, even if it’s an accidental death…lol…it’s pretty ridiculous! It’s definitely not what would happen in real life…I HOPE. LOL…😅

Pumpkin Pie: A Dessert Book That You Love

The thing I remember about this book is the desserts! 🧁

Bonus: Black Friday: The Top 5 Books on Your TBR

I have such high hopes of trying to read these before 2021 is through but…knowing me I won’t get to it haha, and it’ll be pushed to 2022. Oh well – it is what it is!

Thanks for reading! ~ Yolanda 🦃🍁

WWW Wednesday | 11/24/21

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?

Alright, I’m trying to add some holiday romances to my reading list as you can see! Hopefully I can finish these up quickly.

What’s on your WWW Wednesday? Or what are you reading this week? ~ Yolanda

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 11/23/21

Happy book birthday to these new releases!

By day Cindy Moon is an intrepid reporter for the upstart new media empire Threats & Menaces, under her old boss J. Jonah Jameson. By night she’s Silk, crime-fighting super hero! But Cindy’s worlds are about to collide when her latest investigation puts Silk and everyone she loves in danger! Someone is killing gangsters in Queens, leaving behind a trail of blood and…fur? Who is this powerful new player in New York’s underworld? Where did she come from…and what is she doing with a strange cat demon? It will take all of Cindy’s prowess as reporter and hero to find the answers — and stay alive! But even as a perilous meeting with tech CEO Saya Ishii brings Cindy one step closer to the truth, a classic Spidey villain sets his sights on Silk!

The world of magick and the world of man have long been estranged from one another. But some can walk between the two–including Breen Siobhan Kelly. She has just returned to Talamh, with her friend, Marco, who’s dazzled and disoriented by this realm–a place filled with dragons and faeries and mermaids (but no WiFi, to his chagrin). In Talamh, Breen is not the ordinary young schoolteacher he knew her as. Here she is learning to embrace the powers of her true identity. Marco is welcomed kindly by her people–and by Keegan, leader of the Fey. Keegan has trained Breen as a warrior, and his yearning for her has grown along with his admiration of her strength and skills.

But one member of Breen’s bloodline is not there to embrace her. Her grandfather, the outcast god Odran, plots to destroy Talamh–and now all must unite to defeat his dark forces. There will be losses and sorrows, betrayal and bloodshed. But through it, Breen Siobhan Kelly will take the next step on the journey to becoming all that she was born to be.

The past may seem the safest place to be . . . but it is the most dangerous time to be alive. . . .

Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same.

It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible.

Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s teakettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long until the war is on his doorstep.

Brianna and Roger have their own worry: that the dangers that provoked their escape from the twentieth century might catch up to them. Sometimes they question whether risking the perils of the 1700s—among them disease, starvation, and an impending war—was indeed the safer choice for their family.

Not so far away, young William Ransom is still coming to terms with the discovery of his true father’s identity—and thus his own—and Lord John Grey has reconciliations to make, and dangers to meet . . . on his son’s behalf, and his own.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer to Fraser’s Ridge. And with the family finally together, Jamie and Claire have more at stake than ever before.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reckoners series, the Mistborn trilogy, and the Stormlight Archive comes the third book in an epic series about a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction.

Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary. She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell—the enigmatic alien species that has been holding them captive for decades. What’s more, she traveled light-years from home as an undercover spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home.

Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa’s seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.

Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy.

The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return.

To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying.

What are you looking forward to getting this week? ~ Yolanda

Thanksgiving Romances I Never Knew Existed | Top Ten Tuesday | 11/23/21

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!

I wasn’t feeling the TTT this week so I thought to change things up a bit. I was thinking of Thanksgiving (USA holiday coming up this Thursday) and I thought…are there books with Thanksgiving themes? A google search let me know…yes…there are! 😄

This week’s topic is:

Thanksgiving Romances I Never Knew Existed

Fashion designer Faith McClendon is back in Chicago to start over. She put her promising career on hold for too long, and she’s ready to get back in the game. She’s not willing to put her heart on the line again—it’s still far too bruised from her failed marriage for that, so when a renewed childhood friendship starts to make her think about second chances at love, she’s more than a little hesitant.

Photographer Michael Montgomery was Faith’s biggest cheerleader when she decided to move to New York City, and he’s been her shoulder to cry on since she came home to Chicago. He’s never been able to tell her how he feels, but maybe now is his chance to make the family portrait in his head—the one with Faith by his side—a reality. First, he’s going to have to break down the walls Faith has around her heart and convince her they can be so much more than friends.

I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving in six years. A couple days before I leave to head home, I am informed that my brother’s best friend, and also my huge, obnoxious adolescent crush, will be there as well.

So among a shaky work situation, a newfound potato chip addiction, and the usual stress of heading home for the holidays, I have a sudden urge to prove that I was no longer the mumbling, bumbling girl in Hogwarts robes and her nose in a book.

Not that anything was going to happen between us. Those hopes had died around the time I headed off to college.

But maybe….

** This is a quick romance full of sweet moments and enough steam to keep you turning the pages.

When Megan Murphy discovered a floppy-eared rabbit gnawing on the hem of her skirt, she meant to give its careless owner a piece of her mind, but Dr. Patrick Hunter was too attractive to stay mad at for long. Soon the two are making Thanksgiving dinner for their families.

It’s A Time For Giving And Receiving…Love

As if working and raising her family of five–four kids and one demanding cat–isn’t enough, Samantha Williams has been volunteered to oversee a Thanksgiving pageant at her kids’ school. So a relationship is the last thing on this stretched-too-thin single mother’s mind.

Until she meets the new interim principal–sexy, single Harry Remington. Her childhood friend.

Harry is welcomed into Samantha’s home as if he belonged. Being part of her sprawling family–even if it’s only temporary–makes him realize how much he misses having a real home. Best of all, he and Samantha are starting to trust each other. How can he say goodbye to all that? How can he leave when he’s just found the best reason of all to stay?

Juliette

Ugh. Trip Martin.
He was the fly in my ointment.
He was the black cloud on my sunny day.
But everyone thought I was crazy.
Why was I the only person who could see how insufferable he was?
And why, after my parents invited him to share our family Thanksgiving, was I suddenly seeing him in a whole new light?

Trip

Juliette Kensley.
Pampered princess.
Stubborn as the day was long.
But to everyone else, she was a ray of sunshine.
Why did she get under my skin so easily?
And how, after getting to know her better, was I going to survive a long weekend with her and her family?

I’ll tell you one thing—
There better be pie.

* A short, sweet, sexy, slow-burn Thanksgiving novella

Francie excels at her job as a party planner, but can’t say the same about love. When an obnoxious, but handsome, man approaches her in line at a Thanksgiving sale, she pushes him away like she always does. Can Francie put her fears aside and nab an early bird special, or is she destined to plan every wedding but her own?

A feast she wasn’t expecting!

Clover Greene would sooner crawl into her oven than host family for Thanksgiving dinner. Yet another annual ritual of too much food, served with a side of criticism over “Clover’s Bad Life Choices.” This year, she needs to distract them all—with a handsome fake boyfriend. And she has the perfect guy in mind.

Contractor Erick Fields is the poster boy for sexy single dads, and Clover has been secretly crushing on him for ages. She certainly wasn’t expecting Erick to agree to her insane charade…or to add lots of hot, wicked sex to the deal. If they can pull it off, the worst Thanksgiving ever might give them something to be really thankful for!

Pumpkin. The smell. The spice in my latte. The pie that’s synonymous with my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving holds memories of family and togetherness. So when a storm cancels my travel plans, my roommate takes pity on me and I find myself sharing the holiday across the table from my greatest crush—her older brother.

Finlay Ross. He was a senior in high school when I was still in pig tails. Popular, the star quarterback, he was the first boy I got a stomach flip over, and the only guy I’ve ever wanted. Pity a curvy girl like me would never be on his radar. He probably doesn’t even know I exist.

So why does he keep looking at me like he’s starving and I’m the feast?

This could turn out to be a thanksgiving I’ll never forget.

Warning: this quick read contains over-the-top declarations, insta-love and molten hot moments between a curvy girl and a dirty-talking alpha who wants nothing more than a sweet little piece of pumpkin pie.

Each Megan Wade story carries her ‘Sugar Promise’ of Over the Top Romance, Alpha Heroes, Curvy Heroines, Low Drama, High Heat and a Guaranteed Happily Ever After. What could be better than that?

Powerball winner Josie Morgan has learned the hard way that dating, in her financial situation, will only lead to heartbreak. She’s been perfectly happy living the single life and running the Pumpkin Everything country store. Too bad her mother can’t seem to take the hint. Unwilling to face another lineup of suitors and gold-diggers at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, Josie opts to stay behind in Autumnboro to host a free meal for anybody without a place to go.

When Josie’s family turns up in Autumnboro, faking a relationship with funeral planner Riley Parker seems like the only way to make it through the holiday. Like every other man on Earth, Riley’s only interested in her money. So what if she has a teeny, tiny crush? If he agrees to help her out, she’ll gladly write him a check.

But as Thanksgiving draws closer, turkey and stuffing aren’t the only things heating up, and maybe money isn’t the only thing on Riley’s mind. Josie’s already hit the lottery once, dare she hope for anything more?

Set against the scenic backdrop of the White Mountains, New Hampshire, Maple Sugar Crush is a small town, sweet romance, and the perfect way to ease into the Thanksgiving season!

The last thing I expected this Thanksgiving was to meet an alien prince.

Because I have no life and no friends, I’m working a shift at the convenience store on Thanksgiving. I expect the day to be completely uneventful.

Then a freaking UFO lands in the parking lot.

Sani is a 7-foot-tall green man with 12-pack abs, and he’s a prince from the planet Eler. Even crazier? He is in search of a mate because he needs to repopulate his kingdom.

And he wants me to be his mate…

***Get ready for Thanksgiving with this sweet and sexy short story containing cavity-inducing instalove, a baffled heroine, a well-equipped alien prince, and a HEA! Part of Romance Books You Should Be Reading: The Holiday Collection, a collaboration between your favorite authors of paranormal and scifi romance!***

How catchy are some of these titles? And I love the range of wholesome (which I totally expect of a Thanksgiving book), to steamy and…alien (so unexpected lol). A few of these are short stories like that Alien Prince one which is only 28 pages, according to Amazon.

So which of these titles puts you in a Thanksgiving mood? For me, it’s There Better Be Pie! I can actually do without turkey, but dessert is what I look forward to on Thanksgiving lol. I hope all of you that celebrate have a Happy Thanksgiving – I am thankful always for all of your continued support of my little book blog. 🧡🥧

What’s on your TTT? ~ Yolanda

How Not to Fall in Love by. Jacqueline Firkins | ARC Review

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Title: How Not to Fall in Love

Author: Jacqueline Firkins

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 239

Publication Date: 12/21/21

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Friends to Lovers, 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 HMH Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A hardened cynic and a hopeless romantic teach each other about love in this swoony and heartfelt contemporary romance that’s perfect for fans of Tweet Cute and The Upside of Falling.

Harper works in her mom’s wedding shop, altering dresses for petulant and picky brides who are more focused on hemlines than love. After years of watching squabbles break out over wedding plans, Harper thinks romance is a marketing tool. Nothing more. Her best friend Theo is her opposite. One date and he’s already dreaming of happily ever afters. He also plays the accordion, makes chain mail for Ren Festers, hangs out in a windmill-shaped tree house, cries over rom-coms, and takes his word-of-the-day calendar very seriously.

When Theo’s shocked to find himself nursing his umpteenth heartbreak, Harper offers to teach him how not to fall in love. Theo agrees to the lessons, as long as Harper proves she can date without falling in love. As the lessons progress and Theo takes them to heart, Harper has a harder time upholding her end of the bargain. She’s also checking out her window to see if Theo’s home from his latest date yet. She’s even watching rom-coms. If she confesses her feelings, she’ll undermine everything she’s taught him. Or was he the one teaching her?

How Not to Fall in Love is a really quick, light hearted, young adult romance story. It’s about a girl named Harper who works at her mom’s bridal shop, helping her alter dresses for excited and stressed out brides. Being in the bridal industry has made Harper a cynic about love. It doesn’t help that her quirky best-friend and next door neighbor, Theo, falls in love easily and gets his heart broken often. So she tries to help him not fall so fast by giving him lessons in dating.

As for Harper she finally talks to Felix, her crush, and tries to show Theo how to keep things casual except it’s a bit challenging for Harper because Felix is perfect. Theo and Harper both date other people but it’s clear that the person Theo really likes is Harper. She’s pretty clueless about it until she thinks it’s too late for them.

I think I should note the boys in this book – cry! Yes, they both do and that’s rare to see in books. Theo is sensitive, very quirky, dorky, so smart and oh so cute. I can definitely see why Harper started falling for him – he seems to give really good hugs, emotional support and vocab lessons! They have such a cute friendship filled with affection. Felix, on the other hand is perfect as well, it just came down to who knew Harper the best, and that was Theo.

Harper has to pick between two boys so if you aren’t into love triangles then you might not be into this love story.

I think the “lessons” Harper was supposed to help Theo with was kind of lost in the story. I didn’t see too many lessons going on, just some advice she’d give him about when to call a girl back and such. Also I thought it was weird that Harper was giving lessons when she only had one ex-boyfriend and wasn’t the dating type – it took her awhile to talk to Felix. For awhile all she did was stare at him from the shop window.

It’s a sex positive book which was nice because yes, teens do have intercourse. I’m glad Harper’s mom was there for her to talk about her love life.

I’m not a fan of this book cover! I really think they could make it as cute as the story is, at least.

This one is a really quick read and I think it’s such a sweet love story between two best friends. I enjoyed Harper and Theo’s relationship a lot. I thought the love triangle was handled pretty well considering Felix was a good guy too and it was no fault of his that things didn’t work out – sometimes, that’s just the way it is in young love. If you like a friends to lovers romance story, you may enjoy this one.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Favourite Spooky Books | #SixforSunday | 11/21/21

Back in high school (decades ago) I decided to venture into horror and started reading Stephen King. I got through about 5 of his books until there was one that freaked me out so much I couldn’t finish and pick up any more of his books. LOL…that’s how scary it was to me when I was 15 years old! I don’t even remember the title of the book. So I don’t read horror now, if I do, it’s very lite horror. For the best creepy/spooky vibes though, Edgar Allan Poe does it for me!

#SixforSunday is… it’s really just that. You choose 6 books (normally) that you’d choose to fit whatever the prompt is that week. This meme is hosted by A Little but a Lot and you can follow the link to find the prompts for October to December.

This week’s topic:

Favourite Spooky Books

No library’s complete without the classics! This new, enhanced leather-bound edition collects some of the most influential stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe was a master of tales of the mysterious and macabre. From the eerie incantations of “The Raven” to the persistent fright of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” his stories and poems are unforgettable explorations of the darker side of life that still offer lessons and insight into human behavior today, making them an integral component of just about any library.

This Canterbury Classics edition of Edgar Allan Poe collects some of his best-known work–from “Annabel Lee” to “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “Lenore” to “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and many, many more. With an impressive leather cover, specially designed endpapers, and other all-new enhancements, as well as an essay by a Poe scholar, Edgar Allan Poe is the perfect introduction for new readers and the perfect resource for devoted fans.

Poe’s writings were truly original–and this unique book is the perfect look at his uncommon genius.

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

At midnight comes the point of balance. Of danger. The instang of utter stillness when between two beats of the heart, an alternative reality can slip through, like a blade between the ribs, and swithc you into a new and terrifying world.

Four Past Midnight: four heart-stopping accounts of that moment when the familiar world fractures beyond sense, the fragments spinning away from the desperate, clutching reach of sanity…

Thirteen of YA’s most celebrated names reimagine Edgar Allan Poe’s most surprising, unsettling, and popular tales for a new generation.

Edgar Allan Poe may be a hundred and fifty years beyond this world, but the themes of his beloved works have much in common with modern young adult fiction. Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways.

Contributors include Kendare Blake (reimagining “Metzengerstein”), Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”), Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”), Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”), Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”), Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”), Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”), Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”), Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”), Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”), and Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”)

Echoes Between Us is bestselling author Katie McGarry’s breakout teen contemporary novel about a girl with everything to lose and the boy who will do anything to save her.

Veronica sees ghosts. More specifically, her mother’s ghost. The afterimages of blinding migraines caused by the brain tumor that keeps her on the fringes and consumes her whole life haunt her, even as she wonders if it’s something more…

Golden boy Sawyer is handsome and popular, a state champion swimmer, but his adrenaline addiction draws him to Veronica.

A girl with nothing to live for and a boy with everything to lose–can they conquer their demons together?

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

Here is the schedule for November and go to A Little but a lot for more info!

November – Ooky Spooky Books

7 – Orange books
14 – Books that scared you
21 – Favourite spooky books
28 – Books I’m too scared to read