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…
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)
It All Comes Back to You by Melissa Wiesner is going on my top list of all time favorite books. It reminded me of my favorite book of last year, In the Likely Event, by Rebecca Yarros. Gabe and Anna are not just two love interests, their lives are completely intertwined in all the best and most complex ways. This story had me in a vice from the first pages, and it consumed me entirely until I turned the last ones. Even now I can feel this story overtake me when I think of it, which is often.
Gabe and Anna meet when they are assigned as project partners for a college level economics class. Gabe needs it for his major, and sixteen-year-old Anna talked her way into it with her enormous brain. They become unlikely friends during that semester, and their relationship frames the rest of their lives in ways neither of them expected.
Anna would tell you her life is fine, but as the two of them grow closer, Gabe begins to suspect things aren’t as straight-forward as Anna would have him think. Though he knows it will damage her trust in him, Gabe takes steps to give her the helps she needs but does not want.
He saves her.
Anna’s relationship with the Weatherall’s (Gabe’s family) is the balm for our souls. They’re not perfect, but they are close and loving and the exact opposite of Anna’s early life. They welcome her in like one of their own, and give her a soft place to land whenever she needs it.
This story takes place over many years as Anna and Gabe flash in and out of each other’s lives. Their friendship is a pillar in both of their lives, and though their bond is undeniable, they both know it would be a mistake to take it further with Anna’s past continually haunting her.
I am in love with this book. I want to carry it around, nestled close to my chest so I can have it close to me. I’m not ready to let it go. It’s the kind of story that slithers under your skin and sinks deep into your bones. It’s not a book to read for a little escape, or a weekend of entertainment…it is an experience, and one I hope you’ll undertake as well.
Blown. Away.
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:: It All Comes Back To You Author:: Melissa Wiesner Genre:: Contemporary Romance Publisher:: Forever Length::336 pages Audio Length::10h 40m Audiobook Narrator:: Kate Handford Published:: March 18th, 2025 (August 17th, 2023) The Litertarian Rating:: 5 (million)-Stars
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) is the second book in the Vera Wong series. If you haven’t read Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers yet, start there! This is my review.
Vera is at it again when she meets a young woman named Milly who is too scared to step into the police station (don’t ask why Vera is there…a phone scam. She was phone scammed). Milly is afraid something happened to her friend Thomas, and Vera is happy to employ her considerable investigative skills to help her.
While this book has the same grandmotherly charm and Vera is up to the same level of nosiness-with-care as usual, this one didn’t have quite the same impact for me as the first book.
Vera’s personality still shines in this book. She’s still as nosy and runs just as much interference here, and cooks even more than ever for those she cares about.
“You think I won’t? I am Chinese mother, all I do is create conflict.”
She is not afraid to stick herself into situations she’s not invited to, and to smooth things over once she’s caused some offense. It is her greatest skill.
The cast we love from book one is still around, particularly some characters that weren’t explored much, her son Tilly and his new partner, the police officer Selena. Vera is tired of waiting on grandkids, and she’s not afraid to mention it. Repeatedly.
One issue I had is Vera’s first break in the case, the one that really allows her to make any headway at all, is waaay too convenient. I guess it kind of works given the tone and Vera’s tendency to always find what she’s looking for, but that one really pushed the line for me.
The other piece that bothered me a little bit is that the subject matter is incredibly dark and honestly disturbing. There is justice in the end, but the ones apprehended in the end are not the full scope of the problem, and that haunts me (and it should haunt you too). There is only so much an old Chinese mother can do to warm up coldness like that, and for me, it just wasn’t enough.
HOWEVER
Is it still worth reading? Absolutely. Will I be continuing the series? What…and leave Vera to her own devices? I don’t think so! I’ll be there for her next adventure, and I’m sure she’ll have a bowl of delicious Chinese cooking for us once we get there.
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:: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) (Vera Wong #2) Author:: Jesse Q. Sutanto Genre:: Contemporary Mystery Publisher:: Berkley Length::336 pages Audio Length::11h Audiobook Narrator:: Eunice Wong Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio Published:: April 1st, 2025 The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
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 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
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 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
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.
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)
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
