3-Star Archives - Page 3 of 4

Book Review:: Spring Fling | Annie England Noblin

Ben was always the-one-that-got-away, but now that he’s back in town, Mylie isn’t sure how to approach him. All signs point to him leaving again, but who says it has to be something serious? Maybe they can just have a spring fling…

Spring Fling by Annie England Noblin Book Review

The tone of this novel was very lighthearted and easy, even when some of the subject matter probably warranted a little more depth. Personally, I was craving a little bit more from these characters, but every time I felt that way it seemed to launch into another tropey situation that kept things light and playful.

The characters felt well developed for the purposes of the story. Mylie, in particular, had a lot of ties to the town that drove the subplots well enough. The setting of Clay Creek is small town America with the requisite old-lady bingo group, and rascally wildlife.

For me there wasn’t a lot that really stood out as being particularly original or interesting. That’s the danger of reading so much romance! If you’re looking for something sweet and light, this book fits the bill, but if you’re looking for the next great romance novel, in my opinion this one isn’t essential reading.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Spring Fling
Author:: Annie England Noblin
Genre:: Romantic Comedy
Publisher:: Avon
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 8h
Audiobook Narrator:: Amanda Stribling
Audiobook Publisher:: Harper Audio
Published:: March 18th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3 (open door explicit scenes, but brief)

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Book Review:: Ambush | Colleen Coble

Paradise Alden is ready to confront the demons of her past. She takes a job as the vet at a big animal rescue in the hometown her parents were murdered in, hoping to find out more about what exactly happened that horrible night.

The animal refuge is run by the family she was closest to after her parents died, but they’re also the reason she was bounced back into the foster system, when she was in a bad situation. Trouble is, sometimes bad can turn worse, and unfortunately that’s what happened to Paradise.

In this first book of a new series by Colleen Coble, Paradise is searching for answers, but does she want justice? Or will she be able to find forgiveness in her heart for past transgressions?

The action gets started as soon as Paradise steps into her new role, and it doesn’t let up. With large animals (especially the large predators) in their sanctuary, careful execution of strict procedures are paramount to safety, and when locks are left open, animals not where they’re meant to be, and traps set for the unwitting, accidents are inevitable.

For me, the pacing was a little unhinged. It is one hurdle after another after another with barely room to adjust before the next big event happens. More incidents doesn’t necessarily mean more danger, and I think this book could have done with some trimming of the excessive dangerous episodes.

I found the relationship between Paradise and the son of the Sanctuary owner, Blake, very well done. They were once teenaged sweethearts, but after fifteen years of hard lifetime apart, will they be able to forgive one another and develop a friendship anywhere near the level of trust they once did? There are a lot of complicated emotions there, and the dynamics of Paradise and his family is a beautiful thing.

One of the main themes of the book is forgiveness and finding faith. When Paradise confronts one of her greatest fears, she has a moment of transcendence, but for me her realizations felt too in-your-face and repetitive through the rest of the book. If they had been a little more inter-woven into the story and subtle in the language, I think it would have been more immersive.

Overall it was quite a unique setting for a story which was very interesting to read. The characters are good, and I’m curious to know where the series is headed next!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Ambush (Sanctuary #1)
Author:: Colleen Coble
Genre:: Thriller
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 55m
Audiobook Narrator:: Karen Peakes
Published:: March 5th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

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Book Review:: Unloved | Peyton Corinne

If you were a big fan of Icebreaker, Unloved is another college hockey romance with spice, heart, and finding your place you that will scratch that same itch.

Matt Fedderic is a hockey star with learning disorders that make it difficult for him to stay eligible for the team. Ro is his new tutor. She has a toxic ex who builds himself up by bringing her down, and though he doesn’t want to date her, he doesn’t want to be rid of her either, since she’s an easy punching bag. Matt has a reputation for getting around, fueled by the gaping hole left by his piece of crap father and his mother’s passing. As Matt and Ro spend more time together, a friendship forms between them, and maybe even something deeper.

For me, this was an enjoyable read, but there were some problems. The fact that most of their early tension and attraction was caused by two different nights they had together that the other couldn’t remember and was formative to the other…that just seemed problematic to me. Especially the prologue – since there is another scene based on that plot device a little later on, I kind of wish it hadn’t been included.

There is some pretty dark stuff insinuated in this book. Matt’s sexual past is…not great. It mentions some action with a high school teacher at one point. …um, what? And then his most recent ex is nothing but bad news as well. And Ro’s ex had zero redeeming qualities or background to back up his actions toward her.

I don’t know. A lot of it was a little too much for me. If there were a volume dial on the drama scale I might have turned it down like two notches.

The relationship between Ro & Matt was sweet though. Having them prioritize friendship between them for so long was absolutely necessary for these two and absolutely refreshing. It was clear they weren’t just horny for one another, but that they really cared about the other in much deeper ways. They are both going through some rough stuff, and they show up for each other every time it counts. That’s the kind of stuff I love in a romance.

Unloved is really what I’m finding to be a ‘typical’ college sports romance novel. It’s long, there are lots of plotlines, family traumas, lessons to be learned, steamy scenes, and a nice happy ending at the end. For me, it felt like I’d read it before honestly. There wasn’t enough there to stand out, but I read A LOT of romance. But this is exactly what you might be looking for if you were a big fan of Icebreaker by Hannah Grace.

Details

Title:: Unloved (The Undone #2)
Author:: Peyton Corinne
Genre:: Sports Romance
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 464 pages
Audio Length:: 14h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: February 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3

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Book Review:: The Memory Library | Kate Storey

The Memory Library is the story of an estranged mother and daughter coming back together in a moment of difficulty, as they discover that no wound is too deep to heal.

The Memory Library by Kate Storey Book Cover

Ella hasn’t seen her mother in over twenty years. After a grief-stricken fight, she moved to Australia and started her career and family away from England. But when her mother has a fall, she and her husband decide it is time for Ella to go. She is the only one who can.

While there, she and her mother, Sally, are forced to confront what tore them apart, and as the waves of healing wash over them, Ella comes to realize what her decision cost her.

Sally still lives in the same home, and has been continuing her tradition of buying a new book for Ella every year on her birthday, but since their estrangement, she’s been keeping them safe in her own library at home until Ella was ready. She inscribes them each with a little message, describing why each title was chosen, but it was ruined in the flood that resulted from her accident.

The idea of this book is sweet, but for me it felt a little forced. It’s an uplifting story that has a thread of sadness and grief tied all through it. It warns us to make sure we’re not taking for granted even the more difficult relationships in our lives, and urges us to try harder to understand others. It’s a great message, so I can forgive a few clumsy character motivations.

I can see people really latching onto this book if they have healed estrangements in their own lives, or have complicated relationships with their own mothers.

Note:: I received this book through netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Details

Title:: The Memory Library
Author:: Kate Storey
Genre:: Contemporary
Publisher:: Avon
Length:: 335 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 20m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jilly Bond & Imogen Wilde
Audiobook Publisher:: Avon
Published:: February 1, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

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Book Review:: All the Water in the World | Eiren Caffall

You like reading about life post-apocalypse? How about a double apocalypse?

All The Water In the World by Eiren Caffall Book Cover, New York Underwater

Nonie is born after the end of the world as we know it. Weather patterns have changed, and the water levels have risen. Which has led, apparently, to the downfall of civilization. Her parents decided to stay in New York City (somehow there were flood gates installed…all around Manhattan, to keep it mostly unflooded?), and they lived and worked at the American Museum of Natural History (what they would come to call the Amen) to preserve human knowledge during this time of reckoning. But then a hypercane comes and destroys what very little was left of the museum, and the survivors must try to get out of the city to (relative) safety.

This one takes a big suspension of disbelief, and to be honest, I wasn’t quite there. Hypercanes are a theoretical caliber of storm – you can look them up – and from what I’ve read, it doesn’t really seem to fit into the narrative the author weaves here. The fallout of a storm like that would be far more widespread than she seemed to account for. Already I was stretched thin being asked to believe rising sea levels would have destroyed all civil and federal order (I guess the spread of disease was also a big factor, but still), and this theoretical storm was a little too much for me. I literally don’t believe a world like this is possible the way it is implied (but I get it is fun to imagine). There would obviously be issues around the modern coastline but…um, there’s a lot more world out there than that (seriously though, there are more museums in the world, why didn’t they just move inland)? Not to mention it’s essentially impossible for ALL the ice to melt. I feel like readers have a high probability of misunderstanding the real world because of this book, and I don’t like that.

However, it is full of little philosophical snapshots and provokes deeper thinking about human concepts, which I could appreciate. Nonie’s parents were intellectuals and had dedicated their entire lives to preserving as much history and human knowledge as they could. They sacrificed the chance at an easier life to this end and were raising their girls to carry forward as much knowledge as possible, too. Once they leave the Amen, there are the studies of base human nature in the encounters they have with others, which, really, is why we love reading post-apocalyptic fiction, right? We see humanity in its rawest form. On the positive end of the spectrum, our ability to bond to one another and cooperate, and on the other, what a thin line stands between civilization and becoming wild again.

In many ways it reminded me of Margaret Atwood’s MaddAdam trilogy (which is wonderful), I just wish it had stronger legs to stand on so I could better immerse myself.

I was provided an advanced copy of this audiobook through the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: All the Water in the World
Author:: Eiren Caffall
Genre:: Apocalyptic Sci-Fi
Publisher:: St. Martin’s Press
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 42m
Audiobook Narrator:: Eunice Wong
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: January 7th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

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Book Review:: The Lodge | Kayla Olson

The Lodge by Kayla Olson is a romantic wintertime escape. Set in a Vermont ski resort, it hits the spot for your cozy romance itch in the dark days of winter.

Alix Morgan is an entertainment writer who just landed the gig of a lifetime: ghostwriting the memoir of Sebastian Green, one of the front men of the boy band called True North. The band was once the most popular in the world, but ultimately broke up after one of the members disappeared. Needing some space from her roommate to focus on her tight deadline, the publisher (via Sebastian himself) puts Alix up at a posh Vermont resort. She’s having trouble communicating with Sebastian, and her next-door neighbor offers her ski lessons, so in between days of intense work, Alix strikes up an unlikely friendship with him. It doesn’t take long for it to turn into more, but both of them have secrets, and it’s only a matter of time before they come to light and change everything.

The best part of this book was the falling. Ooo, the sparks between Alix and Tyler (the ski instructor) were red hot and plentiful. I felt like their connection was authentic and romantic and all the things you want from a romance novel.

I struggled a little bit with the cheesiness of the plot. I think it’s inherent a lot of times in a celebrity romance. It was well crafted as far as character backstories and everything fitting together well in a puzzle sense for an impactful climax, but for me it’s hard to escape the fan fiction vibe in this genre. I think I’ve only read one celebrity romance that didn’t give me that aftertaste (When in Rome by Sarah Adams), but if celebrity romance is your thing, I think you’ll love this one.

Note:: I received this title from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Details

Title:: The Lodge
Author:: Kayla Olson
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 9h
Audiobook Narrator:: Andi Arndt, Graham Halstead & Gilli Messer
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: January 7th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

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Book Review:: The Vanishing Year | Kate Moretti

Tis the season for suspenseful, twisty books, and The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti will certainly scratch that itch for you.

The Vanishing Year Kate Moretti Book Cover

Zoey has a pretty great life – a life she never expected. After fleeing a dark, haunting past, she didn’t know what she might make of herself, but now years later she’s the wife of a wealthy New York businessman. Since her marriage, she’s drifted away from the friendships she’d made in her new life, and her old goals – for one, discovering the identity of her birth mother. With the help of a reporter who covered a story for her charity (pasting a picture of her in the newspaper), she pulls on that thread. In the meantime, someone from her past is hungry for revenge.

If you are a sensitive thriller reader, you might want to skip this one. This one was pretty gruesome and dark. Psychopathy, human tr*fficking, drugs…it’s a lot. But there are also a lot of very compelling factors: her own hidden identity, the mystery around her birth mother, her husband’s odd behavior, the new friendship with the reporter…I think it was just balanced enough that I didn’t have to put it down. If you like dark stories…I found one!

The tension starts pretty low at the beginning, but once it starts ratcheting up, it doesn’t stop until the brutal end. It held my attention all the way through. It’s the kind of story that leaves you questioning why any and everything is being included. Is it important? Is it going to tie back in? What is happening!

Details

Title:: The Vanishing Year
Author:: Kate Moretti
Genre:: Suspense/Thriller
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 50m
Audiobook Narrator:: Mandeleine Maby
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: September 27th, 2016
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

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Book Review:: I Did Something Bad | Pyae Moe Thet War

I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War is not your typical romance. There’s a dead guy in it, for one, not to mention a cover-up, a Vogue expose, and no shortage of commentary on illegal abortion in Myanmar, where the story takes place. I’d say it was one part romance, two parts murder conspiracy & complications thereof.

I Did Something Bad Pyae Moe Thet War Book Review. Figure of a woman in sunglasses, which are reflecting the portrait of a man.

Khin, a freelance journalist, has been offered the job that could make her career (so far): writing the cover story of Tyler Tun for Vogue. He’s a global mega-star actor, and he’s filming a new movie in Myanmar with his best friend Mai. She’s to shadow him for two months, and if she can get a major break for the piece, she’s all but guaranteed a lead journalist job for Vogue Singapore. As a recent divorcee, the opportunity is too good to pass on. When she meets him, she can tell he’s hiding something, but they get on well enough. Then on the first day of shooting, Khin is approached by a drunkard ‘white guy’ who assaults her. She shoves a monogrammed pen in his ear and drops him off a bridge. Tyler finds her and steps in to help at the last minute, and she somehow talks him into pretending nothing happened. When the police show up on set the next day, they team up to get the story straight.

To be honest, it felt like this book was a little confused. I’m not sure what exactly it’s trying to be. It reminded me in some ways of Finlay Donovan is Killing It, except the stakes didn’t really seem that high, and it didn’t have a really high degree of humor. There were detectives, but they were pretty despicable. It was a little odd that they seemed almost more concerned with the article she’d previously written about outlawed abortions than the dead guy in the lake. The romance wasn’t incredibly strong either. I liked Tyler, but nothing about their connection felt very profound.

I was lucky to receive this title as an advanced listeners copy through netgalley from the publisher. I will say I especially enjoyed the voice she chose for Tyler, but I kind of hated the voice she chose for best friend Mai. It wasn’t enough to detract from the story though.

Overall it was an entertaining story, it just didn’t blow me away in any of the several categories it spanned. I’m not really sure what kind of reader I would recommend it to.

Details

Title:: I Did Something Bad
Author:: Pyae Moe Thet War
Genre:: Romance/Thriller?
Publisher:: St. Martin’s Griffin
Length:: 336 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 47m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jacqui Bardelang
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: October 8th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

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Book Review:: Hate Follow | Erin Quinn-Kong

Hate Follow by Erin Quinn-Kong aspires to be the My Sister’s Keeper of this decade. Not many people will have children who need life-saving medical care and second children that are a perfect biological match. Everyone is on social media, and this book draws attention to the moral and ethical implications with posting content of those who have not (and cannot) give consent. And while this novel raises so many poignant aspects of the online culture, the plot sort of fizzles out by the end.

Mia’s mom Whitney is a momfluencer. She makes incredible money by posting about her life as a widowed mother of four in Austin TX. As Mia is getting older, she doesn’t want to be a part of the photo shoots anymore. When she finds out exactly how much her mom has been sharing about her online without her permission, her little teen-y world implodes and she takes things into her own hands.

Such commentary!

When I met Whitney, I knew her. We’ve all seen them: the picture-perfect IG influencers whose entire identity becomes ‘be the ideal version of the modern woman who has it all‘. They’re real people out there, though it’s hard to imagine. They just tend to get carried away. The pressure increases, and their lives become all about numbers. But there’s still the facade that they’re doing good in the world, by sharing all this perfect sh*t, they’re helping people.

Then add in the layer of momfluencers. The ones who post about their kids online. Include their photos, tell stories from their lives: exploit them, in some sense. There is a lot of conversation about this already, but this book lights it up with the bat signal from hell.

I felt for the strained relationship of Whitney and her teen daughter. Those teen years are tough for everyone to navigate and add the hurt and immense grief of losing the husband/father they loved so dearly…all the ingredients of a city-block razing explosion are there. Though Whitney, as an influencer, is kind of despicable…the author humanizes her by having her shoulder so much responsibility. It is not just her own future in jeopardy if she can’t continue making a good living, it is her children, and her siblings, and her mother.

The heart of this story isn’t actually about the violations Whitney is subjecting her children to, it’s about simply getting out of your own way to listen.

For me personally, I was let down by a plot that promised a lot of juicy drama but ended up resolving a little too easily for my taste. It felt like a lot of build up for something so ultimately bland. I was getting so nervous when I saw the numbers closing in on my ereader (75%-80%-85%) and the big finale hadn’t started yet. Turns out it just wasn’t there. It’s a quiet ending to a problem that had so much potential.

I still think it’s worth reading, of course. The points discussed in this book are incredibly relevant for everyone on social media and I think it does a good job showcasing both the good and bad aspects if ‘influencing’. There is so much more I could say about the topic, but this is about the book, so I’ll leave it at that!

I was given the opportunity to read this book for free by netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are honest, and my own.

Details

Title:: Hate Follow
Author:: Erin Quinn-Kong
Genre:: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:: William Morrow
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 48m
Audiobook Narrator:: Carolyn Jania
Audiobook Publisher:: Harper Audio
Published:: October 8th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

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Book Review:: The Death King | Penelope Barsetti

This book is an indulgent escapist dark erotic romance fantasy. It is fiction. Please go into this one with the right expectations. This book will NOT be for everyone. Especially none with any sensitivity toward SA (se*ual as*ult).

I received this as an advanced listeners copy from Netgalley & the publisher, and though it did warn of dark themes, I’m not sure I was quite prepared for what this book is.

The Death King Penelope Barsetti Book Cover Sword Sheathed in a Broken Skull

Calista’s father was a King. When the Death King conquered the continent, her father killed himself before the conqueror could get to him. Calista witnessed it all before being shipped off to be a slave in the far reaches of the new kingdom. When she finds one of the coveted black diamonds in the sands, everything changes. Suddenly she finds herself a different kind of prisoner in the King’s own castle, and he’s fascinated by her. She doesn’t know him or what the war he’s clearly preparing for is about, and he’s not forthright with any information either. All Calista wants is freedom, and she’ll do just about anything to obtain it.

This is kind of the dark erotic answer to fourth wing. There are dragons, there is a dark leader love interest, there is a world to save (kind of?). Take that for what you will.

When this book began I was all in. The set up and the world this takes place in feels like a really great setup for an epic fantasy adventure/romance…whatever it might be. But as soon as Calista met the Death King, it turned into straight up erotica. The King is obsessed with bedding our dear Calista, despite the horrific trauma’s she’s endured. Like, literally her second night in his castle after rescuing her from her perpetual r*pist he’s wanting to bed her. And he does bed her, just not that first night. He gives her some choice, though not really the level he gaslights her into believing she has.

I’m not going to argue that this book takes things too far, because I know there are people out there who love a book like this one, it just wasn’t for me.

Anyway, there is a whole lot of sexy times in this book, and we’re not talking love-making. The King (Talon) is a damaged man. He’s basically allergic to intimacy. But Calista alights something new within him he’s unfamiliar with.

Personally, I wish the dirty stuff was toned down quite a bit because I think the skeleton of the plot is actually really interesting and I’d really like to find out what happens next. To me, the incessant lust really distracts from what the book could have been. For me it was 20% great setup, 70% nothing but sex and the pursuit of sex, and 10% hurry-and-wrap-up-the-plot. I also wondered a few times about consistency in the world. It’s a world where seamstresses are making the lingerie (not factory machines), but they have books of matches, and shave their nether regions? With what, a straight razor? …..it disconnected me from the story a few times when things like this would pop up.

There are three more books slated to be in this series, and while I added them all to my goodreads TBR soon after starting this book, I’m not sure if I’ll continue or not.

I thought the female narrator, Ramona Master, did a great job. The voice of Michael Ferraiuolo wasn’t really what I was expecting of a character called The Death King, and while I noticed every time narrators switched, I wouldn’t say it was distracting.

Details

Title:: The Death King (Death #1)
Author:: Penelope Barsetti
Genre:: Dark Erotic Fantasy
Publisher:: Hartwick Publishing
Length:: 341 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 7m
Audiobook Narrator:: Michael Ferraiuolo & Ramona Master
Audiobook Publisher:: Dreamscape Media
Published:: September 24th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Rating:: 5!

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

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