Tag: book review

The Match by. Sarah Adams | Audiobook Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Match

Author: Sarah Adams

Format: audiobook (borrowed)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 5/30/20

Categories: Romance, Contemporary


Sometimes, love finds you when you least expect it…

Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.

The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.

1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…
A family.

The Match is a feel-good, closed-door romantic comedy! Perfect for readers who enjoy sweet, sizzling chemistry with passionate kissing only.

Content Warning:

I thought this was a cute read and the narrators did a really good job with voicing the audiobook.

Evie has epilepsy, grew up rich, but is striking out on her own with her disability and service dog, Charlie. I admired her strength and bravery and her personality is very full of sunshine. She meets Jake because of his daughter Sam who has the same condition and wants a service dog. I liked the disability rep and the moments with the service dog.

Jacob is a great single dad, but he is seven years older than Evie so at times I felt like Evie was falling too fast for him even though he had some baggage to deal with. Overall though it’s a really cute, sweet romance.

My Final Thoughts:

This one has service dogs, a disability rep and a super cute romance!

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read By This Author

Practice Makes Perfect by. Sarah Adams | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 9/4/24

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 feel like now that we are in September I have more motivation to finish all these fantasy reads I have in my NetGalley library! I’m such a mood reader. I also can’t believe we are in September and I have to be thinking about Halloween soon or do Christmas shopping or something! lol…I want to be prepared because I hardly am when the holidays hit. Anyway, what are you reading right now?

What are you currently reading?

Fledgling by. S.K. Ali – 50% – slow going only because of my mood reader tendencies

Stranger Skies by. Pascale LaCelle – 1% – still no progress because I’m reading other things but I will be getting to this one very soon!

Heir by. Sabaa Tahir – 35% – more progress and I think I will be done with this one this week!

Zodiac Rising by. Katie Zhao – 12% – no progress

Deja Brew (Elemental Love, #3) by. Celestine Martin – 24% – I haven’t read the first 2 books in this series but I couldn’t resist the cover and Fall themes!

What have you just finished reading?

Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 – when I got this arc, I pushed every other book aside to read this!! lol

The Match by. Sarah Adams – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 9/1/24

Aloha friends!

Happy September everyone! Here we are in the start of the “Ber” months and it’s kind of exciting and kind of overwhelming thinking of the holidays coming up.

This week we had some tropical storms pass us by – so it was rainy, windy and humid (yuck). My son also turned 12 on Tuesday so we are going over to his grandparents house today to have a birthday lunch with family. He is in a Kirby (Nintendo game) era so all his gifts from me was Kirby themed like a keyboard, a Nintendo Switch case, a shirt, etc…

His school had an Open House on Friday so we went to check it out and I had fun meeting his teachers and seeing their classrooms. He has an elective class which is a Drones class and I was so impressed with their equipment in there and to learn how kids are learning how to build drones and code. The advanced drone team even competes nationally with high schoolers even though they are a middle school and then even won first place last year! I was like wow…my elective back in the 90’s that I picked was Calligraphy 😆. It was that or like sewing or something – I mean we also had home-ec in 8th where we learned to sew and cook but yeah…DRONES is his elective. He gets Woodshop (this seems to be a classic elective lol – I had woodshop), Video Production and some Nature elective in the next quarters.

Tomorrow is Labor Day here in the USA so it’ll be nice to sleep in!

Anyway, I hope all of you have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

  • The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent
  • Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur

Currently Reading:

  • Fledgling by. S.K. Ali
  • Heir by. Sabaa Tahir
  • The Match by. Sarah Adams (audiobook)

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Sailor Moon Cosmos (Netflix) – my kids and I watched this one and it’s so wild lol…my favorite is one of the Three Lights Guardians and her saying “Gentle Uterus!” as her power 😂 It’s so ridiculous but we have so much fun watching Sailor Moon and I loved Chibi Chibi. Anyway, I WISH my uterus was gentle smh…😆
  • Die with a Smile – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – on repeat – it’s so good!🥰

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!

Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandra Bellefleur | Book Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Truly, Madly, Deeply

Author: Alexandria Bellefleur

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 328

Publication Date: 4/30/24

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+


Sparks fly when a lovelorn romance novelist and a divorce lawyer who has sworn off relationships agree to cohost a podcast series offering dating advice to viewers, in Truly, Madly, Deeply, the next steamy queer rom-com from Lambda Literary Award winner and national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur.

As a bestselling romance novelist, everyone thinks Truly Livingston is an expert on happily-ever-afters. She’s even signed on to record a podcast sharing relationship advice. Little do they know she feels like an imposter—her parents just announced they’re separating, she caught her fiancé cheating, and her entire view on love has been shaken to the core. Truly hopes the podcast will distract her… until she meets her cohost.

Her first impression of Colin McCory is…hot. But then he opens his extremely kissable mouth. Colin’s view on love just pisses Truly off, even if he does have an annoyingly attractive face. Bickering with a cynical divorce lawyer is the last thing she needs—so she walks out, with no plans to return.

A few days later, Truly is surprised when Colin tracks her down, asking for a fresh start. Truly can’t deny the little thrill she gets from Colin begging, so she reluctantly agrees. As they go from enemies to friends to something else entirely, Truly discovers they have more in common than she ever imagined, including their shared queerness. He’s a genuinely good guy—charming, sweet, and equally as unlucky in love as herself—and there’s something about Colin that drives Truly a little wild. When their attraction reaches a fever pitch, Truly is happy for the first time in years. Yet she can’t help but wonder… is Colin truly, madly, deeply in love with her? Or is it all too good to be true?

Content Warning: toxic family

I went into this one knowing nothing about it but do you guys remember that song in 90’s Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden? Yeah…I saw, the title, thought of the song and said why not borrow this one. Here are my thoughts!

Likes:

  • Truly is a romance author and Colin is a family lawyer and their first interaction leaves Truly with not a good impression. He’s gorgeous yes, but he gets on her nerves. I loved their interactions and banter and the spice is spicing in this one! The romance is fun.
  • There is bi-sexual representation with both main characters being bi.
  • Truly isn’t only dealing with what she feels about Colin but her parents are having a rough patch in their marriage and she’s questioning love in general. I liked how Colin gave her space, even though this man is crazy for her, and he also tried to make her see the realistic side of love and relationships – because of his job as a family lawyer. But I liked his insights and I just like that he gave her time to think about things. There wasn’t games between them which I enjoyed.
  • I love Truly’s parents who are so quirky and her best friend Lulu who is such a character! They were so funny!

Dislikes:

  • Colin’s family sucks. And speaking of family the Parent Trap plot line Truly concocted was kind of weak. For most of the book after she think of it – there is no planning or thoughts about it until near the end. So I felt like it wasn’t necessary.
  • Pop culture reference – I don’t mind Taylor Swift being mentioned in books, but sometimes it can be overkill and I thought this one had too much of it.

My Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a fun read minus Colin’s horrible family and quick Parent Trap side plot. It’s quirky, funny, spicy and the romance is full of great banter. Overall, I was entertained!

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

WWW Wednesday | 8/28/24

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 cannot believe this is the last week of August by the way and my son just turned 12 yesterday. 🥺 I’m kind of excited that September means we are in the “ber” months and holidays are coming – because that’s always fun but also that means I’ll be more broke LOL. 😆 Anyway I’m working away on arcs that I need to get done by October 😬. I hope you all are getting some good reading done!

What are you currently reading?

Fledgling by. S.K. Ali – 50% – some progress, halfway there but going kinda slow.

Stranger Skies by. Pascale LaCelle – 1% – just started this one.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur – 5% – just started this one.

Heir by. Sabaa Tahir – 15% – I didn’t get far last week but I hope to probably finish this one this week. Very interesting world building so far!

Zodiac Rising by. Katie Zhao – 12% – another arc I’m trying to finish

What have you just finished reading?

The House at Watch Hill by. Karen Marie Moning – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Monsoon Rising by. Thea Guazon – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 8/25/24

Aloha friends!

I actually got some reading done, I’m proud of myself lol. It was an easy week, I’m just glad everything is going so well so far for both my kids in school. I cannot believe my son turns 12 on Tuesday and we are at the end of August! Where has the year gone? I’m working on arcs – but saw that most my arcs are fantasy books – so I’m in the search for more romance, maybe some fall vibey stuff and even some holiday romances since that’s coming up.

Anyway, I hope all of you have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

  • The Hunted Heir by. Holly Renee
  • The Dagger and the Flame by. Catherine Doyle
  • When the World Tips Over by. Jandy Nelson
  • The House at Watch Hill by. Karen Marie Moning

Currently Reading:

  • Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur
  • Fledgling by. S.K. Ali
  • Heir by. Sabaa Tahir

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Emily in Paris Season 3, Part 1 – why are they splitting up the series into 2 parts lately?! So strange. I love Emily in Paris, it’s such an escape and it’s always fun.
  • Die with a Smile – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – on repeat – it’s so good!🥰

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!

The Hunted Heir by. Holly Renee | Book Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Hunted Heir (The Veiled Kingdom, #2)

Author: Ashley Poston

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 242

Publication Date: 8/20/24

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Series


From USA Today Bestselling Author Holly Renee, comes the second book in the scorching romantasy series with enthralling secrets, impassioned enemies, and luring tension.

Verena was the lost princess of Marmoris, the very thing we had spent our entire lives looking for, and I had let her go.

The lingering taste of her mixed with the deep ache in my chest over her betrayal haunted my days and nights. I knew she was hiding something, but her secrets were far more treacherous than I could have imagined.

Though I wished my own betrayal hadn’t been so bitter on my tongue.

Now my dreams are haunted with the way her deep blue eyes looked up at me in shock when I revealed I knew her truth.

The way I crave for her to look at me now as I hunt for her.

Me, along with half of the rebellion.

If my father finds her before me, there is no telling what he will do to her.

And even though she’s the little traitor I’d always thought she was, I couldn’t allow him to find her.

But his orders were clear. The princess is to be taken by the rebellion or she would be taken by the gods. I don’t know which is worse.

She is the heir to our kingdom, the daughter of the cruel king who was responsible for my mother’s death, and the key to winning our rebellion.

I vowed to my father that I would find her, the one person I wish I didn’t have to.

Verena is the hunted heir. But more than anything, she is mine.

Content Warning: violence

This was one of my most anticipated reads but it left me slightly disappointed because this is clearly a filler second book. Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

  • There is a lot more spice in this one compared to book one where the enemies to lovers vibe was strong. In this book they are still enemies but Dacre especially has to figure out who’s side he is on – his dad’s rebellion or Verena’s side.
  • Because of how book one ended, there is some trust that Verena has to build again with Dacre.

Dislikes:

  • This was too short! I always find books being too long these days but this was under 300 pages so it felt like a novella to me and the ending is abrupt. I was like…that’s it?! I did not like how it ended, and didn’t like how it is rushed and short.
  • I think this was a typical filler book. Verena is on the run because of Dacre, and now he wants to find her and apologize? I actually wish Verena and Dacre got more time apart just so she could become stronger on her own before she met up with him again. Not a lot happens except for Verena hiding. Everything happens at the end of the book and then it’s a big cliffhanger.

My Final Thoughts:

I expected more from this sequel and the spice is spicy but the story was too short. There is a lot of traveling, then the spicy scenes and then the ending which leads to a cliffhanger. This is definitely filler and just wanted more from it because it’s such a bingeable series. I’ll still read book three but I hope it’s more developed and not rushed.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books by This Author:

The Veiled Kingdom by. Holly Renee | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Powerful by. Lauren Roberts | Book Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Powerful (The Powerless Trilogy, #1.5)

Author: Lauren Roberts

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 192

Publication Date: 4/30/24

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Novella, Series


Set during the time of the New York Times bestseller Powerless, fan favorite Adena gets a story all her own as she attempts to survive on the streets of Loot…and falls for a mysterious—and dangerous—Elite.

Adena and Paedyn have always been inseparable. Fate brought them together when they were young, but friendship ensured they would always protect each other and the home they built in the slums of Loot. But now Paedyn—an Ordinary—has been selected for the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death.

Now alone in Loot, Adena must fend for herself. After attempting to steal, she’s rescued by a mysterious man from the market. Mak’s shadowy past and secretive power set him apart from the other low-level Elites of Loot. And as the pair team up to see their loved ones before the Trials, the quest tests their loyalty, their love, and their lives.

Content Warning: grief, violence

This is a novella that sits between Powerless and Reckless. I read Powerless and I have to admit, I didn’t remember much of it when I picked up Powerful, but I did get to remembering Adena – just not Mak for some strange reason? Anyway, here are my thoughts:

Likes:

  • Love that this is Adena and Mak’s perspectives. We get such an insight into their personalities.
  • Adena is such a sweet character, I like that we get to know her more and how she’s sunshine to Mak’s grumpy.

Dislikes:

  • I hate what happened to Adena.

My Final Thoughts:

Since this is a novella, and I don’t usually read them, I think this one fits good into the series because it gives Adena and Mak a voice and their romance is so sweet. It breaks my heart to see what happens to Adena. I didn’t totally love the first book in the series, but I figured I’d read Powerful because it was a short novella. And why is this novella the price of a hardcopy?! I think I’ll definitely read Reckless but I’m waiting for it from my library, so it might be awhile before I get a copy.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books by This Author:

Powerless by. Lauren Roberts | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 8/21/24

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?

Well my laptop is almost done for lol…but not quite dead – I was just being in denial for a little because I do not want to buy a new one yet. It just doesn’t like anything plugged into the usb ports but that’s fine, I’m gonna hang onto it until it really can’t power up anymore. 😅 So I’ll just keep chugging on with it! I noticed I have a lot of arcs that are publishing on October 1st! Must be a big publishing day but I’m trying my best to get to them!

What are you currently reading?

Fledgling by. S.K. Ali – 35% – some progress, hoping to finish it this week.

Stranger Skies by. Pascale LaCelle – 1% – just started this one.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur – 5% – just started this one.

Heir by. Sabaa Tahir – 10% – I’ll probably finish this one this week. Very interesting world building so far!

Zodiac Rising by. Katie Zhao – 6% – another arc I’m trying to finish.

What have you just finished reading?

Powerful by. Lauren Roberts – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Novel Love Story by. Ashley Poston – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

When the World Tips Over by. Jandy Nelson – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Dagger and the Flame by. Catherine Doyle – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hunted Heir by. Holly Renee – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Weekly Wrap Up | 8/18/24

Aloha friends!

Second week of school is done and it’s been a pretty good transition for both kids! So my laptop is NOT broken – it just didn’t like a new cord that I had attached to it to connect to my phone. I’m just happy I didn’t have to buy a new laptop. Nothing else new to report. I feel like August is moving really fast now that school is in session – I saw Halloween candy already being sold at my grocery store!! Bonkers.

Anyway, I hope all of you have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

  • Guava and Grudges by. Alexis Castellanos
  • The Blood Orchid by. Kylie Lee Baker
  • A Novel Love Story by. Ashely Poston
  • Powerful by. Lauren Roberts

Currently Reading:

  • The Dagger and the Flame by. Catherine Doyle
  • Fledgling by. S.K. Ali

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Chappell Roan
  • Die with a Smile – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – it’s so good!🥰

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!