Author: - Emily

Book Review:: The Tourist Attraction | Sarah Morgenthaler

Oh my gosh, what a feel-good sweet little romance novel we have here! The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler is such a fun story about an unlikely connection between a grumpy local and an exuberant out-of-towner.

The Tourist Attraction Sarah Morgenthaler Book Cover

Zoey has been saving up forever to travel to Alaska, and finally, she’s there. Her rich friend Lara convinced her to time her trip to coincide with her next visit to the resort in the small town of Moose Springs. Zoey has a long list of budget activities to keep her busy, and she makes fast friends with the handsome diner owner who is dead set against dating tourists.

The little town of Moose Springs Alaska is quirkier than most quirky small towns. Monotone tour guides, locals-only cinnamon rolls as big as your head, a spa that specializes in wildlife shaped designs for the nether regions…and don’t forget Ulysses, the bull moose with a strong attraction to yeasted dough. It’s an idyllic setting, especially within the state of Alaska, which is a whole world of its own.

I loved Graham Barnett. Yes, he was a grouch, but at the same time, he was more laid back and far funnier than most grouchy romance heroes. There was something so special about him. He hates running his diner, The Tourist Trap, and refuses to hire anyone to help him run it, but he also invents The Growly Bear custom cocktail and turns his favorite customers’ reindeer dogs into cute little reindeer. He hates tourists, but he’s also committed to making sure Zoey has a great experience in Alaska. Also, he calls her Zoey bear. Adorable. He’s an enigma in the best way possible.

Zoey is kind of the everywoman, if every woman is grouchy in the mornings, excited to experience as much as she can in the world on her own terms, and isn’t used to eating ground reindeer on the regular. She’s loyal and friendly, and sweetly oblivious – quite easy to love.

There are also plenty of side characters with lots of potential. The twins, Lara and her rich whosits and whatsits – the world Morgenthaler creates is just big enough to get really immersed.

I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Elise Arsenault, and I really recommend it – she really gives the characters a great voice.

I said it in the intro, but I’ll say it again – this is such a feel-good romantic comedy. I dare you to read it without a smile! If you’re looking for something to lift your spirits and tickle your flirty romance craving, this one is it! The characters are so endearing and they get into plenty of questionable situations. AND, it’s the start of a series, so if you like it, there’s even more where that came from!

Details

Title:: The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs Alaska #1)
Author:: Sarah Morgenthaler
Genre:: Romantic Comedy
Publisher:: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 36m
Audiobook Narrator:: Elise Arsenault
Audiobook Publisher:: Tantor Audio
Published:: May 5th, 2020
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Level:: 2

Linky Links!!

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Sarah Morgenthaler Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this, check out…

The Cheat Sheet/The Rule Book | Sarah Adams
Savor It | Tarah Dewitt
Hate Mail | Donna Marchetti
The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren

Book Review:: The Christmas Inn | Pamela Kelley

This might just be the coziest book I’ve ever read! The setting is a Cape Cod Bed and Breakfast during Christmas, and a vibrant cast of characters makes this one of the most wholesome holiday books possible.

The Christmas Inn Pamela Kelley Book Cover

After losing her job in New York City, Reily moves back home for a few weeks to help her mother run their B&B for the Christmas rush after her mother breaks her leg. The place has been in a steady decline for the past several years, but with Reily’s help as a content marketer, they work to make this holiday season special. Among those staying at the inn this year is Reily’s widowed high-school sweetheart and his son Luke, and Franny, an older woman who recently lost her sister, who is following a chain of nostalgic letters left to her.

What a beautiful little story we have here! I’ve never read anything by Pamela Kelley before, and I have to say, I’m adding her whole backlist to my TBR! This is the kind of story you can sink into – it transports you into another world and wraps you up in layers of feel-good story. There is romance, yes (we’ll get to that in a second), but what really makes this book shine is the overwhelming feeling of community – you could even call it Christmas spirit, I suppose. Beth and her little family are so kind-hearted and everyone is so open and willing to be present in any room they’re in. It just warms the soul on a level I don’t remember experiencing in another book in quite the same way.

We have two little romance stories going on here. My favorite was mama Beth! She’s been divorced a long time and has felt very discouraged in the dating scene ‘these days’ and has all but completely thrown in the towel, but when the hired help (Shawn) shows up to fix the damage in a few of the rooms at the inn, he’s handsome and kind and capable (and also divorced) – and brings his mama to the holiday festival!

Reily has been dating a big-shot lawyer named Jack in The City. He works long hours because he enjoys his job and has lots of ambition to one day make partner. They have both understood that it will be several more years, at least, of the same pace, before he will have more time to spend on anything else, including her. When she tells someone they’ve been together two years and they respond with an understandable ‘it must be serious’, Reily is surprised, which is…very telling. Spending more time in her hometown, and around the folks around the inn makes her realize how lonely her life in the city has become, and wonder if that kind of life is still the right choice for her. It begins to factor into her job search, as well. What does she really want her life to look like?

Overall, this felt like an immersive Hallmark movie of the best variety. I can see myself craving to read The Christmas Inn again in the future. I absolutely recommend it for anyone wanting to lean into the cozy vibes that come with the fall and winter seasons. There are also plenty of book recommendations in the book (how cool!). So glad I was chosen as an arc listener for the audio version of this title. Thank you to netgalley and the Macmillan Audio for providing the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Details

Title:: The Christmas Inn
Author:: Pamela Kelley
Genre:: Women’s Fiction
Publisher:: St. Martin’s Griffin
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 48m
Audiobook Narrator:: Stephanie Németh-Parker
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: September 24, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: #-Stars
Spice Rating:: 0

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Author Website
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If you liked this book, check out…

Funny Story | Emily Henry
Thank You for Listening | Julia Whelan

Book Review:: The Perfect Putt | Annah Conwell

The Perfect Putt is a sweet small-town sports romance with no spice, and lots of drama! Picture the flavor of a Sarah Adams romance (a la The Cheat Sheet), geared a little closer to a younger (or more innocent) reader audience.

The Perfect Putt Annah Conwell Book Cover, Golfer kissing girl with red hair

Ellie Heart takes a job as the assistant to a professional golfer in order to accelerate her savings to open up her own florist business one day. She hates golf, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Miles, who has had terrible luck keeping an assistant for long. They always get obsessed with him, and the last thing he wants is to have a serious relationship that might lead to marriage. His parents ugly divorce was enough to solidify that decision for him. But as he and Ellie get to know one another, it feels different.

This novel felt very much like a high school drama. The characters are older, but they acted quite innocently. The emotions were elevated to the point almost of exaggeration, and were certainly accelerated, making this very much insta-love territory. It wasn’t necessarily the short time component that made it feel fast, but the lack of context for the depth of feeling they were both experiencing. Some of it did feel a little silly, but it also has a certain kind of charm.

The fact that Ellie & Miles were technically employer/employee didn’t seem to add any boundary to the romance. I don’t remember it being mentioned at all as a hurdle to overcome between them, which seemed a little strange.

Overall though, The Perfect Putt felt very uplifting and positive.

Miles, in particular, has a very strong friend group. He is distant from his broken family, so it’s great that he has that support system behind him. He likes to be friends with everyone who surrounds him, which is how he starts to let Ellie in.

Ellie is just trying to stay focused on her dream of opening her own little shop in her favorite place: Coastal Cove, an idyllic small-town setting. Her widowed sister Naomi lives there with her young son and Ellie is sticking around to help her. I would expect one of the next novels in the series to center around Naomi!

The narration was done very well. Both voice actors did a great job with the material and gave life to the characters.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for sending the audiobook arc in exchange for my honest review of this title.

Details

Title:: The Perfect Putt (More Than A Game Book #2)
Author:: Annah Conwell
Genre:: Sweet Sports Romance
Publisher:: Indie
Length:: 269 pages
Audio Length:: 6h 42m
Audiobook Narrator:: Sybil Johnson & Dillon Sickels
Audiobook Publisher:: Dreamscape Media
Published:: August 27th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Level:: 0.5 (kissing, alludes to sex)

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Author Website
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If you liked this book, check out…

The Cheat Sheet/The Rule Book | Sarah Adams
My (not so) Perfect Life | Sophie Kinsella

Book Review:: King of Wrath | Ana Huang

King of Wrath by Ana Huang is a possessive, spicy, filthy rich, romance with a tint of darkness that keeps tension wound tight all the way through. I’m not sure if this qualifies as a dark romance, but it feels like it should.

King of Wrath Book Cover

One night at family dinner, Vivian Lau’s parents surprise her with an arranged marriage. While she’d known since she was a teenager to expect it, she was taken by surprise. Not only the deal itself, but the identity of her husband-to-be: Dante Russo, the most eligible billionaire bachelor in New York. Dante was forced into the match, but as soon as he is able to, he plans to end the engagement and go on his merry way, married to his job, exactly the way he likes it. Vivan thinks he’s an ass, but is willing to give him a chance – she is determined to marry him no matter what to please her family. Dante closes himself off emotionally because he knows it’s not forever and doesn’t want to be cruel. But while they keep up the appearance of a happy engagement for high-class society, lines begin to blur.

The romance between Vivian and Dante is hot and cold. Vulnerability is not a language either of them speak. It creates a lot of tension and causes the moments they do fall together all the more intense for it. Vivian is a very strong woman who relies on no one. Though she’s an heiress, she works as an event planner and takes her work very seriously. I enjoyed her personality, but more importantly, I think she is a good match for a man like Dante, who never hears the word no from anyone else.

Dante is slow to let go of his original goals and assumptions. He is a very driven man -incredibly focused – and executes on his objectives to accomplish his goals. When he makes a decision, it’s because he’s considered all the facts and he doesn’t go back to wonder if it was the right one. His engagement with Vivian seems to be the first time he has to reevaluate his original stance, and he struggles with it for a long time.

I picked this book up for the cover. I was expecting it to be some kind of romantasy (right? Look at it!). And, I guess if you consider the billionaire nature of the characters and the high-class world they live in, you might as well consider that shit fantasy. LOL. But it’s not, really. My expectations were subverted a little bit there, however, I’m glad I read it. It’s about as far on the dark romance scale as I think I’m comfortable going, but I was impressed with how well the characters were matched up, and I was really sucked into a lot of the drama. Once I started reading, I thought it might be far sexier than it ended up being. There’s about as much sex as any other spicy book out there anymore.

If you’re looking to spice up your romance reading away from bubble-gum romantic comedies to something more serious and dramatic, this might be a good tangent to explore. It’s also the start of a series, which is a plus in our binge culture (though I’m not sure yet if I’ll personally be continuing the series). If you like a possessive, decisive, rich, all around alpha male lead, you’ll want to pick this one up for sure.

Details

Title:: King of Wrath (Kings of Sin #1)
Author:: Ana Huang
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: Bloom Books
Length:: 407 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 5m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jacob Morgan & Emily Woo Zeller
Audiobook Publisher:: Boba Press
Published:: October 18th, 2022
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Level:: 4 (open door, explicit language)

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Ana Huang Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
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If you liked this, check out…

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Burn for Me | Ilona Andrews

Most Anticipated Book Releases, Fall/Winter 2024

Spring and summer 2024 brought so many amazing books. So many of my preorders came in – it was like Christmas just about every Tuesday. Katherine Center, Abby Jimenez, Carley Fortune, Emily Henry, Tarah Dewitt…the season of romance (mostly)! I can only hope to have as great of a season next year! But what about the books still to come?

But there are some great books still ahead of us yet! These are some of my most anticipated book releases for the rest of the year. This is everything I personally have on preorder that come out in the remainder of 2024:

…looks like I’m going to have an exciting September, too!

Here One Moment | Liane Moriarty

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Here One Moment, Liane Moriarty Book Cover

I love Liane Moriarty. Her deep character work and puzzle-style plot structures are so yummy. With a cover that alludes to the butterfly effect and a high concept premise about death predictions, I can’t wait to read this intriguing novel!

Release Date: September 10th, 2024

We Solve Murders | Richard Osman

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We Solve Murders, Richard Osman Book Cover

The Thursday Murder Club was such a refreshing and humorous story about geriatric sleuths. I’ve been reading more and more mysteries and thrillers, and I’m hoping the tone of this one is similar to his other work. There’s something about investigating a murder! So compelling!

Release Date: September 17th, 2024

If I Were You | Cesca Major

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If I Were You, Cesca Major Book Cover

Maybe Next Time was the first bowl-me-over book of the year. It hit me in all the feels at exactly the right time in my life. Automatic must-buy author for me after that. I actually got an arc of this book on netgalley, so I get to read it early. Another interesting premise, I can’t wait!

Release Date: September 24th, 2024

Intermezzo | Sally Rooney

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Intermezzo Sally Rooney Book Cover

Beautiful World, Where Are You? Is a stunning book. I read it three times in a row. Normal People gutted me, then set my guts on fire. Not sure I can bring myself to read it again, ever. Sally Rooney’s writing is sharp and philosophical and at times damn poetic. Absolutely I’m going to read this…just might be through squinted eyes!

Release Date: September 24th, 2024

Where the Library Hides | Isabel Ibanez

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Where The Library Hides Isabel Ibanez Book Cover

With the way What the River Knows ended, I’d be crazy not to be on the edge of my seat to continue the Secrets of the Nile series. I was pleasantly surprised by book one, and I can’t wait to see what happens next! If you’re looking for an accessible historical Egyptian fantasy with a strong female lead, don’t sleep on this!

Release Date: November 5th, 2024

Variation | Rebecca Yarros

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Variation Rebecca Yarros Book Cover

I read In the Likely Event this year and it absolutely blew me away. I loved every minute of it, and couldn’t put it down. Tears, chills, intense longing…makes this new contemporary romance release from Rebecca Yarros a must read on my list. Looks like it’s going to be on Kindle Unlimited, too!

Release Date: November 19th, 2024

Wind & Truth | Brandon Sanderson

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Wind and Truth Brandon Sanderson Book Cover Placeholder Image from Tor Publishing

The fifth volume of the Stormlight Archive! The culmination of the first half of the series! More than 1,000 amazing pages practically guaranteed! I have recommended this series to so many people. It’s the most incredibly done fantasy I’ve ever read, and every book has surprised me in the best way. What a name, too!

Release Date: December 6th, 2024

What book releases are you anticipating most?

Do you have any of these on pre-order too?

Book Review:: Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake | Mazey Eddings

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake is a frazzled chaos of a sweet contemporary romance. Lizzie has ADHD and has been made to feel like she’s something that needs to be fixed, mostly by her own upper-class family, her entire life. When she finds herself accidentally pregnant, she’s forced to take herself and her wellness more seriously for the first time, and discovers she has a sturdier support system than she ever realized.

Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, Mazey Eddings, Book Review, Book Cover

Our girl Lizzie is a f*ckgirl (the female version of f*ckboy, right?). She has a lot of casual sex, but never commits. She finds people don’t take her well. She’s too much. Forgetful, disorganized, messy- not an easy person to love. This is deeply ingrained in her psyche since childhood. It’s just who she is. Then she meets Rake, an emotionally-unavailable Aussie hunkster on a business trip who finds her quirks endearing. They shack up for a weekend and sparks fly. When Lizzie causes more chaos at work from being (morning) sick, it’s the last straw and she loses her job. She realizes the sickness is because she’s pregnant, and something alights within her, and she wants to do better, for both her and this new baby. Then she calls detail-oriented Rake to drop the baby-bomb on him, and she’s surprised when he drops everything to fly back to Philly to get their new situation figured out. Nothing about this new life is what Lizzie ever expected, but it just might be the best thing that ever happened to her.

The romance is a little unconventional. A two-night stand turns into these characters building their entire lives around one another. It’s almost a slow burn after the blazing bon fire of that first weekend together. They get to know each other on a deeper level in these circumstances than if they’d simply been ‘dating’, and there was something so wholesome about that. I really loved that Rake wasn’t letting the people in Lizzie’s life make her feel less than because of things she cannot control. He’s a great guy. Maybe even too great!

I feel conflicted about this book. The character arcs of both lead characters were well thought through, but some things in the plot seemed a little too forced in order to get there. My reflexive rating just after finishing it was 3-stars. However, the more I think about it, I think it might deserve another. There were enough flaws for me to knock it down to 3, but it was very unique in really leaning into something I don’t see often portrayed in contemporary romance. I think the representation here is important, and the conflict and self-discovery that results from it is meaningful.

While it is a fun and often light-hearted contemporary romance, it also made me think and feel things I wasn’t expecting. It’s nice sometimes to read books with unconventional lead characters, and this is a great example of that.

Linky-Links!

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Mazey Eddings Author Website

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Other Books You Might Enjoy if You Liked Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake

The Cheat Sheet & The Rule Book | Sarah Adams
Business Casual | BK Borison

Book Review:: Amazing Grace Adams | Fran Littlewood

Have you ever had a bad day? Bad week really. Months, even. Or a decade, if we’re being honest. Grace has. And she’s kept it together, mostly, through most of it. But you can only hold together for so long once your vessel is cracked and leaking and you refuse to acknowledge it.

Amazing Grace Adams, Fran Littlewood, Book Cover, Book Review

Grace Adams is a mess. A perimenopausal, hot-flashy mess, stuck in a traffic jam that is preventing her from reaching her estranged daughter’s birthday party. Everything has gone wrong lately. Everything. And just maybe if Grace can deliver the custom inside-joke birthday cake she had made to the party she was never invited to, her daughter would forgive her. Her ex-husband might forgive her. Everything might take a step back in the right direction. But she can’t get there if she’s stuck in the misery of traffic until it’s over. So, as a hail-Mary last-ditch effort, she opens the door of her car and walks away from it. Right there, in the middle of traffic, and foots it the rest of the way to the bakery. This is only the first of many questionable decisions Grace makes that day.

The genius of this story is in the revelations. While the present Grace is on a frantic quest to fix everything she thinks she’s broken in one desperate grand gesture, we’re traced back through the steps that led her to such a desperate moment. The magical meeting of her eventual husband at a linguistics conference, their unconventional courtship and marriage, the family dramas they’re forced to navigate, the trials of new parentship, partnership, and beyond. Each petal is pulled back and back and back until we get to the real hurts that Grace and her family are struggling with. And they’re big ones. Heart shattering. I sobbed for…a long time…as I read through the last chapters. Right there on the couch, while my family watched TV. This book is devastating and beautiful and the writing is so lovely and clever. Here are some of the quotes I underlined:

A message that has made him fizz inside with what? Laughter?

She has doughy skin that makes her look like one of the pastries she’s selling.

Amazing Grace Adams Uncensored Book Cover, Fran Littlewood, Book Review
The uncensored cover.

They stand without speaking until the woman has moved past. As if in tacit agreement that their conversation is private, a secret between them.

If she could, she would walk out of any room that she was in.

Grace is hugging her knees to her chest and listening to the hypnotic suck and pull of the filter system.

This is a great book, and it was a pleasure to read. Fran Littlewood has delivered a story that is witty, passionate, and a little bit manic. It explores depths of love and forgiveness and grief that won’t soon be forgotten. I love all of it. The title, the cover, and the gift that is the prose.

I would recommend this book to women around Grace’s age. A woman who’s seen it all. Marriage, children, the chaos of it all, and the monotony of it too. The routine. The staleness. That, I think, is the audience who will get the most out of it. Who will understand her. But of course any fan of literary fiction might enjoy it. It’ll probably make you cry, so try not to go into it with a fragile heart.

Details

Title:: Amazing Grace Adams
Author:: Fran Littlewood
Genre:: Literary Fiction
Publisher:: Henry Holt & Co.
Length:: 272 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 51m
Audiobook Narrator:: Claire Skinner
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: September 5th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 1 (brief, not explicit)

Linky Links!!

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More Books from Henry Holt & Co.
Amazon Affiliate Links
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If you liked this, check out…

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The Last Love Note | Emma Grey

Book Review:: Sunshine and Spice | Aurora Palit

The grass is always greener on the other side, but when you take the time to look around, you just might realize the blessings that surround you right where you are.

Sunshine and Spice, Aurora Palit, Book Cover, Book Review

Naomi recently struck out on her own as a brand consultant and is struggling to make ends meet. She is out of money and needs to win a redesign contract for a local Indian-Canadian bazaar or she might have to reevaluate everything. She has Indian heritage, but has never been engrossed in the Bengali culture, and it makes her self-conscious in a place that is so culturally vibrant. Meanwhile, Dev, the middle son of the bazaar owner, is dodging prospective wives sent by the matchmaker his mother hired. He has no interest in marriage, based on the experience he’s observed from the men in his own family. Soon, it becomes clear that he and Naomi could help each other. She could pretend to be a match for him, chasing away any others, and he could help her with decisions that would make the redesign feel authentic.

Dev feels suffocated by the Bengali culture his family celebrates. Large dinners and festivals that Naomi finds fascinating are standard fare for Dev, and he is critical of the way his father and brother have treated the women in their family. If that is his only option for marriage, he would rather never marry. But try telling that to his mother. He feels rebellious toward the pressure and control he’s feeling from his family – he just wants to be left alone.

Naomi’s mother left her culture behind once Naomi was born. She felt her family trying to control her and her decisions and cut herself and her daughter off from them by moving to a small rural town and marrying a white man. Naomi didn’t go to school with people who looked like her, and she didn’t eat Indian food at home growing up. As an adult she finds herself craving some of that culture, and soaks up every bit of it she gets to experience with Dev.

I enjoyed this story quite a lot. It was well plotted, giving the book constant forward momentum, and the characters were interesting. I don’t know much about Indian culture, and it was really interesting to read about it in the context of this book. Dev’s weekly big family dinners seem amazing. Like Naomi, I’d love to experience that sometime!

It is the personal dilemmas that drive the book, but the romance was nice too. Even though it is called Sunshine and Spice, I wasn’t really expecting it to be spicy. I guess the matchmaker/arranged marriage element made me think maybe it would be more modest, but there is definitely some spice later in the book.

This is a story about finding your roots and embracing your blessings. It’s about finding out who you want to be, even if it’s almost exactly the opposite of what you always thought it was. It’s about following your heart and deep connection. It’s about hard work and paving your own way. It is a rich tapestry of themes, layered with flavor and spice, just like almost any meal in traditional Indian cooking.

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for providing an arc copy in exchange for an honest review. I’m so glad I got to read this one!

Details

Title:: Sunshine and Spice
Author:: Aurora Palit
Genre:: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 2336 pages
Audio Length:: 9h
Audiobook Narrator:: Soneela Nankani & Imran Sheikh
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: September 10th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 4 (not erotica, but open door and explicit language)

Linky Links!!

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Aurora Palit Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this, check out…

The Kiss Quotient | Helen Hoang
Haunted Ever After | Jen DeLuca

Book Review:: PS: I Hate You | Lauren Connolly

A human life is fleeting. We only get so much time before we run out. Sometimes, there is no warning. Sometimes, you get a heads up that the end is inevitable. Either way, death is a reminder of our ticking clock, and often shines a spotlight on what is important, and what is not. This is a theme that has come up a lot in my reading this year, and it strikes home every time. Because we’re all alive, and one day, we won’t be. What are we going to do with the time we have?

PS: I Hate You Lauren Connolly Book Cover

Before Josh Sanderson died of cancer, he wrote some letters to those he left behind. To his mother, his grandmother, and his friends. But to his best friend Dominic and his sister Maddie, he left a task: travel to the last eight states he never got to visit using the coordinates he left, scatter some of his ashes there, and read the letter he left for each place – together. The only problem is, Dominic Perry is the reason Maddie fled PA for the west coast. If it were under any other circumstances, Maddie would’ve told them both to kick rocks, but Josh was the only person in the world who loved her, and she’ll do anything to read the letters he left.

I think my favorite part of the whole adventure was that Josh didn’t spell out his reasons for sending them on their quest, leaving Maddie to speculate what his intentions could possibly have been. She comes up with several theories along the way, each of them making her reconsider everything she thought she knew.

I was pulled in from the very beginning by Maddie’s snarky, heartbroken voice. Her backstory is devastating, and she’s developed unhealthy coping mechanisms to survive. In the depths of her grief, she clings to them harder than ever, but the journey through the eight destinations illuminates the need for changes.

Dominic is the strong silent type. Through so much of the book, all we really see from him are ‘looks’. He’s staring at her, he has a strange look on his face, you know the drill. It leaves a lot of room for the reader to project what they want him to be thinking, which is clever. The one complaint I have is that Connolly WAY overused the phrase ‘the man’, when referring to him, especially at the beginning.

The themes in his book are heavy, but it reads very much like a rom-com. There is plenty of banter to enjoy, and a lot of personal growth for our MC. There is a fun cast of friends which make me hope there might be another book featuring one of them (Tula?) still to come. This was my first Lauren Connolly book, and it certainly won’t be my last!

Thank you to Berkley & Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on December 3rd, 2024, but it is currently available for pre-order!

Details

Title:: PS: I Hate You
Author:: Lauren Connolly
Genre:: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 432 pages
Audio Length:: 10h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: December 3rd, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 4 (not erotica, but open door and explicit language)

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Lauren Connolly Romance Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this, check out…

Hate Mail | Donna Marchetti
Play Along | Liz Tomforde

Book Review:: Play Along | Liz Tomforde

Play Along is the 4th book in the Windy City spicy sports romance series by Liz Tomforde. If you’re a fan of sports romance, this series is a must read. Play Along lives up to the same meant-to-be, charged with heat romance, and it has the same deep heart healing running through it too.

Play Along Liz Tomforde Book Cover

Isaiah Rhodes (pro shortstop) and Kennedy Kay (an athletic physical therapist for his pro baseball team) met in a bathroom on a bad day for them both. Three years later, they get drunk as skunks and married in Vegas so Kennedy can feel some sense of power in her f*cked up family dynamic. The next morning the real world comes at them like the world’s worst hangover, and they realize that if Kennedy is really going to get what she wants (professionally), they’ll have to play out this marriage like it’s real for the whole baseball season. The only problem is Isaiah has a very real thing for Kennedy, and she is looking forward to having actual freedom for the first time in her life – which means D-I-V-O-R-C-E, A.S.A.P.

I love this series. Tomforde has built up a big ol’ cast of characters that are supportive and spunky and endearing and sprinkled throughout each other’s stories. Isaiah is the younger brother of Kai, the hero of my favorite book in the series, Caught Up. But man, Isaiah really gives Kai a run for his money. I’m honestly conflicted at this point on which to claim as my favorite, but in the end it doesn’t matter – they’re both (all) brilliant.

I love the depth that this series explores in each volume. They’re fairly long books compared to many in the genre, but still, I’m left wanting more (seriously, I had to look up if there is a fifth book in the series coming, and – rejoice – there is!). Both lead characters always get a robust backstory and very real conflicts and insecurities that they work through that gives them such depth and allows us to empathize with them deeply. In this case, Isaiah lost his mother at the age of thirteen and is dealing with some severe anxiety when triggered, and is also learning that it’s okay to be himself instead of the mask of humor and the relentless easy-going nature he forces himself to wear at all times. For Kennedy, she comes from a cold family who has never expressed love or affection for her and uses her like a pawn in their own schemes. She has trouble feeling important or worth anyone’s time, and has problems with physical touch. Through all the tropey gimmicks, these two come together to heal each other in all the right places.

If Liz Tomforde wrote ten books in this series, I would read them all. I trust that she can string together a story that I’ll care about no matter the context. She’s good at characters with heart, and they’re all living rent-free in my head. If you love that all-consuming possessive longing love feeling, you’d be hard pressed to find something better than this series. Pick it up! You won’t be sorry.

Details

Title:: Play Along
Author:: Liz Tomforde
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Golden Boy Publishing LLC
Length:: 272 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 32m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jacob Morgan & Samantha Brentmoor
Audiobook Publisher:: Golden Boy Publishing LLC
Published:: July 11th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Level:: 4 (open door, explicit language)

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