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Book Review:: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | Jesse Q. Sutanto

If you love contemporary murder mysteries and haven’t yet discovered Vera Wong, you’re in for a treat. She is the fun and spunky lead in an investigation no one invited her into. She’s happy to help, of course, because young people don’t always know the best way to do things these days. She knows because she keeps an eye on things with The Google and The Facebook. You have to, if you don’t want to be left behind.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Jesse Q. Sutanto Book Cover

Vera Wong is a widowed Chinese Auntie with a grown son who never heeds her relentless advice, like how to wake up early when you’re young to make the most of your day. When a dead body shows up in her failing tea shop, she jumps at the chance at helping the police by getting a jump start on the investigation before they arrive. It’s not disturbing evidence if she wears rubber gloves and follows the procedures she’s seen on CSI, right? And no one will mind if she keeps a little something the deceased was holding…no one else saw it, so no harm done! But when the police aren’t convinced the victim has been murdered at all, she continues the investigation herself, pinpointing four suspects who showed up at the tea shop after the body was discovered. Everyone knows the murderer always comes back to the scene of the crime! She is convinced it is one of them: the wife, the brother, an online reporter (The Buzzfeed!), and a crime podcaster, all of whom have their secrets. One of them must have done it, but which one?

I absolutely loved Vera and her steadfast all-knowing ways. There is a right way to do things, and she’s not afraid to let you know it. Life has been lonely since her husband passed away, and having a dead body turn up in her tea shop was unexpected, but certainly cured the monotony of her strict routine in a way she didn’t know she needed.

It is an unusual case, but her sleuthing does turn up some clues but while Vera is searching for a murderer, what she’s actually doing is connecting a handful of floundering individuals over this thing they now have in common – her.

This book is full of heart and humor, good food and matchmaking, family and community. It’s an always interesting story of how an old woman got her groove back and ultimately solves the crime that turned up on her doorstep.

If you’re a cozy mystery fan, you won’t want to miss Mrs. Vera Wong.

Details

Title:: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong #1)
Author:: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 339 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 41m
Audiobook Narrator:: Eunice Wong
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: March 14th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Finlay Donovan is Killing It | Elle Cosimano
How to Solve Your Own Murder | Kristen Perrin
Famous Last Words | Gillian McAllister

Book Review:: Colton Gentry’s Third Act | Jeff Zentner

I haven’t read many (or any?) romance novels based on the male’s point-of-view. Colton Gentry may be the first! For awhile it seemed like everywhere I turned there was another glowing review of this book until finally I was too curious to resist.

Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner Book Cover

Colton Gentry shot down his own country music career with a gun control speech after his best friend was killed in a music festival shooting. His audience doesn’t care (apparently). His label doesn’t care. His wife doesn’t even care. Or, maybe she did, but she was already sleeping with someone else, so if she did care, it was about the wrong things. Now Colton is alone. Broke. Grieving. And trying not to soothe the immense discomfort at the bottom of a bottle.

There’s nowhere he can go but home.

After high school Colt left Kentucky in pursuit of his musical dreams. His high school sweetheart left to pursue hers in architecture. But fate has landed them both back home. Though he broke her heart once upon a time, Luann extends a much-needed sympathetic hand to help him get back on his feet.

This book is chock full of great themes. Friendship, forgiveness, redemption, resilience, courage, sobriety, second chances, and holding firm when you know something’s right or wrong. Colton’s journey isn’t an easy one, but if you’re looking for a book that is ultimately uplifting, you’ve found it here.

Zentner is clearly a talented writer. I was quite impressed several times as I read. However, I was missing a little x-factor spark that would have pushed this book into five star territory. With a goodreads rating of over 4 stars, clearly I’m in the minority there.

Details

Title:: Colton Gentry’s Third Act
Author:: Jeff Zentner
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 1m
Audiobook Narrator:: Charlie Thurston
Audiobook Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Published:: April 30th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Summertime Punchline | Betty Corrello
Wild Love | Elsie Silver
Funny Story | Emily Henry

Book Review:: Promise Me Sunshine | Cara Bastone

One does not simply move on when their best friend dies. The friend who has been by their side through every important milestone in their life. The friend who is the other half of who they are. When the one left behind doesn’t even know who they are without the other. So when Lou dies, Lenny is not okay.

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone Book Cover

She can’t go home. She can’t answer the phone. She can’t feed herself properly or take any kind of care of herself. She’s in full denial. But she does take a short-term nannying job one weekend to help out a single mother, and caring for someone else? That’s what she’s used to. That, she can handle.

It’s where she meets Miles, the uncle of the kid she was hired to care for. Though they get off on the wrong foot (who can blame the guy, when she looks like a hollowed-out shell of a healthy woman and he didn’t know her from Eve), Miles sees right through Lenny. He recognizes her pain, because he’s felt it too – a grief so profound it fundamentally rearranges you. They strike up a deal that she’ll call him when she’s in the thickest throes of her pain, if she’ll help him connect better with his niece, who Lenny is so good with. This is the beginning of a stunning and glorious friendship.

This is not your typical romance novel. This book is dripping with sadness and loss and the kind of hopeless feeling you can’t just shrug off or accept. It’s the kind of feeling that leaves you falling asleep on perpetually running ferries at night or showing up to nightclubs with all-night dance parties – anything to stay out of the apartment you can’t stand to exist in alone. It’s the kind of sadness that leaves you gasping for air through tears and sobs and the most minute of memories. But death happens every day, and when you find someone who understands, when you find someone who sees you and isn’t afraid of the grip grief has on you…that person is worth everything.

I can’t seem to get into the details of this one, can I? I keep harping on the vibes, but man, this book is excellent. Lenny is hurting, but she’s a free-spirit fun-loving bubbly girl by default, which plays in beautiful contrast with Miles’ buttoned-up and reserved sort of stiff-man quiet-guy thing he’s got going. They’re an unlikely pair, maybe, but sometimes all you need is someone who understands to just be with you. Sit with you. Sleep next to you…so you’re not alone.

I don’t really have any notes for this one. It’s a little long, and I can think of a few scenes I would personally have shortened, but really, it all works, and if it was shorter I’d have wanted more, surely. I’ve listened to a few of Cara Bastone’s Audible Originals stories, and I have to say she has a knack for creating characters with real depth, even in the shorter format. Of course a full-length novel was going to crush it in character work.

This is the type of story that lingers. Lenny and Miles have been in my thoughts many times in the days since I experienced their story. If you’re looking for a novel to emotionally wreck you that is ultimately uplifting and hopeful, this is your official recommendation for Promise Me Sunshine.

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:: Promise Me Sunshine
Author:: Cara Bastone
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: The Dial Press
Length:: 416 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 11m
Audiobook Narrator:: Alex Finke
Audiobook Publisher:: Random House Audio
Published:: March 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3 (open door but…classy? not vulgar)

If you liked this book, check out these other books about grief…

PS I Hate You | Lauren Connolly
The Last Love Note | Emma Grey
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife | Anna Johnston

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

If you liked this book, check out…

I Think I Was Murdered | Colleen Coble & Rick Acker
Before We Were Us | Denise Hunter
Every Moment Since | Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Book Review:: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave | Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan’s relentless adventure continues in her fifth book, Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave. Not only is it my favorite title of the series, it might be my favorite installment of the series, period.

If you’re new to the Finlay Donovan world, welcome! You’re in for a wild and exciting ride, but you’re going to want to start it at the beginning. To avoid any spoilers for you, start with my review of Finlay Donovan is Killing It and I’ll see you back here in a few books! If you’re wondering if this series is worth the investment of time – my answer is emphatically yes.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano Book Cover

Just when we thought she might be out of the woods, the dead body in Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard turns out to have a connection to Steven, and as we learned in book two, Finlay may have her qualms with the man, but she isn’t about to let him go down…especially when she believes he’s being framed. Steven’s ill-renowned womanizing ways are catching up with him (again), and Finlay is the only one who seems to think the woman claiming an affair with him is lying. When two crime podcasters catch wind of the connection, Finlay and Vero have to step back into action with their own investigation to find out what really happened before Steven gets pinned with the murder.

I feel like Cosimano has gotten back to the roots of Finlay’s story in this book. It’s not quite the same ‘caught in a web of consequences I could have never anticipated’ magic as Killing It has, but it felt far more simplified and organic than the last few, which were becoming so tangled and convoluted it was hard to keep track of all the moving pieces. They were still good (my reviews are linked at the end of this post if you need a refresher), but they were almost break-neck in their pacing. This one still has a lot going on, but it felt much more manageable.

More than any other in this series so far, this book is about girl power: female friendship, companionship, and trust. One might say it’s the main theme in the series, and the embodiment in this book was exactly what you might expect from a Finlay story while still being mysterious and surprising as hell. Sometimes we are all each other has, and we shan’t be underestimated 😉

It’s almost stupid how easy it is to pull me in with a little bit of romance…after Finlay’s confessions to Nick in the last book, I couldn’t wait to see the state of their affair afterwards. It’s no secret I’m a fan of that man, and I giggled in delight at the developments between these pages. Speaking of love, Vero and Javi are working some kinks out of their whirlwind relationship behind the scenes, and I can’t wait to see where that leads. That woman deserves a little bit of romance – soak it in, girl!

And did I forget to mention the Hollywood exec thirsting for movie rights to Finlay’s books? Some of his conditions are problematic, and sure to stir up more trouble down the road…

This series is pure, hilarious gold, and I’m so happy to see there are at least two more books lined up in this series. I’m happy to proclaim my love from the rooftops, because more readers mean more books, and that is always welcome news to me. If there’s an author I trust to pull off a long series based on accidental crime and complicated hijinks, at this point, I think Cosimano has proven she’s it.

Details

Title:: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan #5)
Author:: Elle Cosimano
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Minotaur Books
Length:: 320 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 18m
Audiobook Narrator:: Angela Dawe
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: March 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four

How to Solve Your Own Murder | Kristen Perrin

Book Review:: When We Grow Up | Angelica Baker

Looking for a book that hits on every hyper-zennial political and culture topic there is without actually giving any substance to any of it?

Man, I hate writing negative reviews, but this one was just.not.it.
I will give the two major trigger warnings for the book here so you don’t have to read through the rest: miscarriage & extra-marital affairs.

When We Grow Up by Angelica Baker Book Cover

The premise of When We Grow Up is a group of friends from childhood go on a vacation together just before turning thirty.

I was expecting it to be an exploration of deep humanity and how we grow and change and how things in our lives that seemed so foundational just don’t make sense anymore. Instead we have a whiny narrator, Clare, who has major self-esteem issues and a group of friends who don’t even like each other all that much (past or present).

Clare is floundering. She doesn’t seem confident in any of the choices she’s made in her life. She also doesn’t seem close to any of these friends. It’s a paradox that they know one another more deeply than anyone because of how much shame and humiliation they witnessed in each other growing up (inevitable in middle school), but they also know hardly anything about each other as an adult. They claim they’re so close, but they almost never talk about anything personal. Everything is so damn surface level. Then when they finally do, it’s like they could be talking about literally anyone.

I only know Clare by the choices she makes in the novel, and how self-critical she is. I don’t really know a damn thing about her character. That’s a problem.

I didn’t like Jessie, the only other girl in the group (why are there so many girls on the cover?), and the boys didn’t have enough personality to even tell who is who until far too late in the novel. There was a black one and a gay one, and I thought they were the same person for most of the book. We knew who Liam was because Clare is having an affair with him, which also irks me because she didn’t seem to even know why, beginning, middle, or end. (I’m not even counting this as a spoiler since it is alluded to in the blurb).

The biggest problem was I didn’t care. There was nothing interesting about the book except the first chapter. Their vacation in Hawai’i happens to coincide with the false missile alert that went out to everyone on-island in 2018. That happens on page one, and kind of explains the whole book. The characters are completely apathetic, even when they’re warned they’re about to die. This absolutely should have been a short story. It actually would have been an excellent short story.

I wanted to like a book like this. As I read I was hoping that things would shift and the insights would start bringing everything together in some profound way. Nope. Never happened. The only insight here is that Clare is unhappy and kind of judgy. In some ways it kind of felt disparaging toward the whole generation, which, for context, I am the same age as these characters. In 2018 I was turning 30.

(spoiler)
Near the end, Jessie kind of confronts Clare by telling her being a boy’s girl is essentially a fucked-up thing to be.

Ahem.

Like I said, this book was not for me.

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:: When We Grow Up
Author:: Angelica Baker
Genre:: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher:: Flatiron Books
Length:: 288 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 53m
Audiobook Narrator:: Imani Jade Powers
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: February 25th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 2-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

The Most Fun We Ever Had | Claire Lombardo
It’s All Relative | Rachel Magee
The Summer Pact | Emily Giffin

Book Review:: The Perfect Rom-Com | Melissa Ferguson

I am happy to report another 5-star romance to blissfully indulge in with a title that isn’t shy about what it is: The Perfect Rom Com.

The Perfect Rom Com by Melissa Ferguson Book Cover

Bryony Page is a passionate ESL teacher with a dream of becoming an author and using her earnings to bolster the perpetually under-funded school she works at. She’s written a profound literary masterpiece that is twice the length of a typical debut novel and is frantically trying to find a publisher who will give it a chance. Jack Sterling, literary agent to the stars, is her last chance…but when their short meeting begins to tank, she surprises him with her quick wit and sharp analysis skills, and he realizes she might be the answer he’s been searching for for another project. If she agrees to ghostwrite one of the biggest names in the biz, he’ll work with her to get her passion project greenlit.

And thus begins the most romantic of romances.

Bryony’s character is very well developed. She has dreams and passions and history, and as far as her work is concerned, she knows exactly what she wants, and she’s determined to get it. Jack’s character is maybe not as visible in the story, but he doesn’t feel flat. He’s incredibly good at his high stress job, and though that makes it hard to distinguish his true feelings from Bryony’s perspective, since she’s his client and he’ll do anything to appease his clients, I feel like the integrity of his character is plain as day.

The romance is so deliciously crafted. They can’t really indulge in a usual romance because of their unique situation, but the friendship that develops between them is so genuine and endearing it fuels the craving and yearning for more. Everyone seems to see the potential between them before Bryony, and I was SO on board for every succulent sentence of it.

The story’s development didn’t lack either. There are real, serious conflicts that Bryony and Jack are contending with that don’t have easy answers, but in perfect rom com fashion, everything resolves itself in the end, and the characters are done justice in a way that satisfies the built-up tension.

I was seriously so engrossed in this book the way that only great ones can do. I can’t wait to read more from Melissa Ferguson, and I hope you find the time to add this one to your ever-expanding TBR if you’re a romance lover like me!

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:: The Perfect Rom Com
Author:: Melissa Ferguson
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Thomas Nelson
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 10m
Audiobook Narrator:: Karissa Vacker
Published:: February 11th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

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Funny Story | Emily Henry
Hello Stranger | Katherine Center
The Slowest Burn | Sarah Chamberlain

Book Review:: Change of Heart | Falon Ballard

Our lives are made up of one moment to the next – moments that are mostly logical and organic as they happen. If we’re not careful, those moments that make so much sense up close may lead us down a path we never wanted for ourselves. Sometimes we have to zoom out to make sure we’re on the right track. You can do it yourself as part of your planning, goal-setting, or self-care regimens…

*OR*

you might be forced into an alternate dimension by a magic waitress that forces you to examine your life in new ways.

Change of Heart by Falon Ballard Book Cover

That’s what happened to Campbell and the blind date her grandmother set her up with. She was out on another obligatory date, which she had no time for and blatantly blew off, even still at dinner with him, without having had any attempt at conversation with him. Then she wakes up in Heart Springs, a tiny warped town she’s stuck in like a waking dream until she fulfills all the right criteria. She must find work she loves, participate in the community, and experience true love. Oh, and the blind date is there too, with his own mission.

Sigh.

If you’re looking for a straight up Hallmark movie in a novel, you’ve found it. Exaggerated, but fun if you don’t look too closely and syrupy sweet.

We start with a character who is straight up unlikeable, and by the end she learns important lessons ‘the hard way’ before her inevitable happily ever after.

I had a few problems with it.

The love interest didn’t make any sense. He was pretty much only in Hope Springs as an accessory. He was far underdeveloped and a huge wasted opportunity.
Campbell was just too unlikeable. She doesn’t really redeem herself. Her motivation is purely to do whatever she has to to get back home to her shitty New York existence. She changes, but I’m not convinced she’s really learned anything long-term. It ends too quickly for someone so flawed, in my opinion.
I didn’t care enough. Due to the first two problems, I just didn’t really care what happened. There would obviously be a happy ending, and the details didn’t interest me much.

Now, this isn’t Falon Ballard’s first book. In fact, I have two others on my bookshelf right now that I haven’t read yet and have been looking forward to. I’m still going to read them and I’m hoping she’ll blow away my expectations with those, because this one…didn’t.

I can see how this book might appeal to younger romance readers, or ones with a penchant for whimsy. It just didn’t work for me.

Onwards and upwards, my friends.

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:: Change of Heart
Author:: Falon Ballard
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Length:: 336 pages
Audio Length:: 10h
Audiobook Narrator:: Carly Robins
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: February 11th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 2-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Wished | Sarah Ready
If I Were You | Cesca Major
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Book Review:: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun | Elle Cosimano

What have Finlay and Vero gotten themselves into next? Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is the third book in a sometimes-hilarious contemporary mystery series led by a novelist mother of young kids who gets caught up in schemes way over her head.

The series needs to be read in order, so to avoid spoilers for you, please click to my review of the first book, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, if you haven’t read the first two books yet!

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano Book Cover
Finlay is peeking around a corner, chewing on her nails.

So here we start: the site is down, Steven is safe, but Finlay is on the hook now for discovering the identity of EasyClean, and Feliks is not the most patient of men. Behind bars or not, Feliks’ people are everywhere and she can’t afford to get this wrong, or waste time. Cam says the suspect is a dirty cop and Nick, with his injuries from the finale of the last book, is on desk duty and volunteered to teach at a week-long citizen’s police academy. His squad invites Finlay along so she can do ‘book research’, and Vero won’t let her say no. Ah, what the hell, Steven has the kids for the week anyway.

The usual shenanigans ensue immediately, and don’t let up.

The first time I read this third book it was my least favorite of the series, but reading through it a second time, I think it was an issue with my own comprehension. There is so much going on, and so much to mentally juggle, I think I just didn’t absorb everything going on the first time. My advice is not to rush through it, as tempting as that may be. I think maybe the greatest flaw of this series is that it’s too easily bingeable. At this point in the larger story there are so many lines of complexity running through it’s more difficult to keep everything straight.

Let’s talk about Nick! I’m a great fan of this clever hot cop. The entire premise of whatever relationship he and Finlay may or may not have is so tension-laden. He’s the cop on Feliks’ case, and there’s no way she can ever reveal to him everything that’s happened to her without severe consequences for one or both of them. I was so tickled that he and Finlay got to spend a lot of quality time together in this book in this sleep-away camp situation 🙂 I also live for the fact Finlay has never outright lied to him. Oh my tender little heart…I fear it is destined to be broken by this…situationship?…sooner or later!

Now Vero: Finlay’s Latina partner in crime who plays waaay too fast and loose for my comfort. I love that she and Finlay can rely on one another – their trust is really the glue sticking everything together in this series. As soon as that starts to fall apart, they’re F*%#ED! I really enjoyed getting to peek behind the crack of her hard-enameled shell to see a little bit of possible-vulnerability in the person of Javier. The two clearly have a history, and that guy seriously caught no breaks in this book.

Though this book is complex as all-heck, it really holds its own in the series overall. I mentioned that it used to be my least favorite in the series the first time through, but this time it changed my mind. So far, I don’t have a least favorite. If one thing is true, it’s that this series is deliciously bingeable.

Details

Title:: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (Finlay Donovan #3)
Author:: Elle Cosimano
Genre:: Contemporary Mystery
Publisher:: Minotaur Books
Length:: 304 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 47m
Audiobook Narrator:: Angela Dawe
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: January 31st, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Book One)
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead (Book Two)
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Book Four)
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Book Five)

How to Solve Your Own Murder | Kirsten Perrin
I Did Something Bad | Pyae Moe Thet War

Book Review:: Exes & O’s | Amy Lea

What if your next great love was one you already had? What a question. Timing is everything, after all. Then again, maybe fixating on your past can leave you blinded to what is right in front of you.

Tara needs a date for the Valentine’s Day event she’s attending, and her grandmother has convinced her to look to her past to find one. Explore the ghosts of romance past and reconnect with her exes to see if there is any lingering spark there. Her very own second chance romance. She launches a whole project on her bookish social media, typecasting her exes into tropes and reaching out to them to see if there is any lingering potential there. Her new roommate Trevor is as invested in the project as anyone, helping to coach her through the dates, giving her tips to avoid scaring them off too early (given that she’s often called “crazy” or “too much”).

It’s a high concept novel, in a way. The project is a gimmick, exposing all of Tara’s sometimes still-tender wounds and insecurities. This of course is perfect territory for real feelings to catch between her and Trevor, the one who’s always there for support when she’s continually disappointed.

It’s a successful trope for a reason, the trusty forced proximity roommate romance. They’re there to see all the high-highs and low-lows. The vulnerabilities and the celebrations. Real life. If they’re still interested after all that? They’re a keeper for sure.

The concept of a woman being ‘too much’ or ‘crazy’ I think is well placed here. It’s clear that it isn’t a her problem, it’s a them problem, and though she does learn some lessons along the way (confidence in herself being the big one), she is ultimately accepted by those she cares about for being her own dang self.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, lighthearted, Valentine’s-Day-season winner. If you’re looking for something fun to cheer you up this time of year, or to just get you in the mood for good ol’ V-Day, this one is a great choice.

Details

Title:: Exes & O’s (The Influencer #2)
Author:: Amy Lea
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: Berkley
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 37m
Audiobook Narrator:: Natalie Naudus
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: January 10th, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 2.5