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"Beyond life, beyond death; My love for thee is eternal." - 'Capturing the Devil' by Kerri Maniscalco I read books to make my life better. My absolute favorite genres are fantasy and romance (even better if they're mixed together!) and I also enjoy historical fiction and mystery books.

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Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

It's very hard for me to come by a Tessa Bailey book that I don't enjoy, and Unfortunately Yours did not break that streak. I was hooked from start to finish. I literally finished it in a matter of hours. Truthfully I think that this is her best book since It Happened One Summer, which I think will always be my favorite book from Tessa Bailey.

The relationship between Natalie and August is so sweet and wholesome (and plenty spicy too), that I found myself in tears during several parts of the book. Seriously, every time he called her "his" I swooned. I also think that the aspects of his grief were very well done, and I was bawling like a baby when he was asking his old friend to walk him down the aisle.

My only bone to pick with this book is that I felt like they started wanting each other way too early on in the book. I was hoping for a bit more yearning on both of their parts, but by around the 30% mark it felt like they were both head over heels and they both knew it, they just wouldn't say it out loud. If there were more yearning or groveling it would be a 5 star book for sure.

Overall, I highly recommend this book AND Secretly Yours. This series has my heart, and I need the world to love these books as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

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Book People by Jackie Ashenden

DNF @ 40%

This book is just tangible proof that the enemies-to-lovers trope is significantly difficult to pull off in romance books. I wanted to give it some grace, which is why I read so far into it, but the thing is- they were never enemies (shocker). Yes, they have rivalry due to them both owning bookstores right across the street from one another, but they are not enemies by any means. The MMC tells the reader in his first or second chapter that he wants the FMC. Please say it with me: they are NOT enemies!

I also just couldn't get past how childishly they treated each other at the beginning. I'm not quite sure how old these characters are supposed to be, but they are definitely a few years into their adult years and yet they're acting like high schoolers. If I had to endure him calling her "Miss Jones" one more time, I think I would've gone nuts. Maybe I have gone nuts after reading so much of this book.

Now, this is not to say that this book is bad! I just personally did not enjoy it but I can definitely see the charm that it has. If I liked the characters a tad more I probably would have continued with the book. I just truly wish the enemies-to-lovers trope wasn't so hard to execute.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman

DNF @ 56%

After giving Sussman's previous novel a 5 star review, I had such high expectations for Once More with Feeling. Unfortunately, it didn't give me any of the same joy that Funny You Should Ask did.

Let's start with the writing. While written in the same exact style that FYSA is written in, I somehow found it insufferable. I never noticed in my first readthrough of FYSA the amount of times the words "said" and "ask" are used. If you hadn't noticed before, I'm so sorry to point it out to you because once I realized the repetitive phrasing (over 1000 uses of "said" in a 400 page book), I could not get it out of my head. Reading it is exhausting and I'm just wondering.. what happened to literally ANY other dialogue tag??

Now for the characters. Kathleen Rosenberg is annoying as all get out. For someone who supposedly did such a horrible thing (ten years ago, get over itttt), she shows little to no remorse. She only shows anger towards our MMC, Cal, that he got off scot-free when he was involved in the same scandal. To be fair, I would be angry too, but still it's been an entire DECADE. At what point do you move on. Cal is no saint either, he's just as annoying. For grown adults, they get into arguments more often than children having to share toys at a preschool. They are working together on a musical production and I just know that the other people having to work with them are struggling to get out of bed in the morning just knowing they have to witness the same argument once more (without feeling, because there is none).

The plot is not horrible, but not nearly interesting enough to make me care about whether Kathleen and Cal will reconcile their differences. I mostly just want them to never see each other again. I do not believe in their love story simply because the author doesn't do a good job of convincing with these two. It is such a letdown after Funny You Should Ask that I wish I hadn't even bothered.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings

Her entire life, Lizzie hasn't escaped the criticisms about her very personality and her ADHD. From her mother to her boss, she can't get away from it. So after a one night stand with a man who doesn't even live in the same country leaves her with a bun in the oven, she finds herself having to change her ways in order to mature, and why not do that with a hot Australian man at your side?

Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is a book that you read when you don't want to think about anything, as the book is nothing but a bundle of joy (ba dum tsss) wrapped in a cute package. I will say that I am and always will be a sucker for the pregnancy trope and I am fully unapologetic about it, I do not care! Lizzie and Rake (can't say I'm in love with his name but oh well) were adorable, and I loved them both trying to get their lives together to take care of this baby!

Although I have no huge criticisms for this book I still find myself unable to rate it 5 stars. It was really cute, but not a standout in my opinion. There are better books out there but that's not to say that you shouldn't give this one a try! It's a good quick read that will leave you feeling good on the inside.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

4 stars.

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Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

After reading It Happened One Summer last year, I fell in love with Tessa Bailey's writing style and knew that I was in for a long ride of reading all of her books, which makes me even more grateful that I was able to receive an advanced reader copy of Secretly Yours to review. This has been one of my most anticipated releases since it was announced and I am so happy with how the book turned out.

Hallie and Julian are complete opposites. Hallie can't keep a schedule to save her life while Julian needs his day to be entirely planned out in order to function. After harboring a crush on him since high school, she's decided that it's time to give up. That is, until he shows back up in town and she is assigned to arrange a garden outside of the house he's staying at. Hallie resolves to writing secret admirer letters to get her crush out of her system but she doesn't anticipate him actually writing back...

Hallie and Julian own my heart. They were absolutely so cute. Please, all he wants is to keep the smile on her face and if that isn't what I want in a love interest then I don't know what is. They change each other in the best ways and I just think their story is soooo adorable. The backgrounds for both characters were pretty well thought out but I do think that they could've been hashed out just the tiniest bit better. We have reasons as to why both characters are how they are but we don't really get to know how they got there. Again, it's thought out, but I was just hoping for a little more.

I think my biggest problem with this book (perhaps aside from the overuse of the word "niggle") is the lack of love letters? Because the title stemmed from her secret admirer letters I had assumed that they were going to be a much bigger part of the story than they were. I believe she wrote a total of three letters and the first one wasn't even thought about until almost halfway through the book. I guess I was just hoping for a little more on that front but they didn't really do anything and were really just.. there. They didn't really add anything to the story which is a tad disappointing.

Overall I think this was a really cute read and I'm thoroughly excited to read Unfortunately Yours when it comes out later this year! I do have to say that I enjoyed It Happened One Summer more but really, not much could top it. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

4 stars!

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Behind the Scenes by Karelia Stetz-Waters

DNF @ 9%

This writing style is 100% not for me. I don't vibe with the lightness or the choppiness of it. It feels very YA to me, which is not inherently a bad thing but for me it's not what I'm looking for in an adult romance. It makes everything seem really immature and I would rather not picture the 30 year olds as high schoolers.

I can't really speak on the relationship because I genuinely couldn't make it past the beginning. The writing did me in and then the vivid description of ASMR served the killing blow. I love ASMR, but I do not need to hear about someone "sensually" messing with cantaloupe seed. That's right. The word that was used was "sensual". Ick.

Anyways, I can't necessarily recommend or *not* recommend this book, I really didn't get far enough in to be able to say anything definitive other than if you are like me in not liking this type of writing style then it's most likely not the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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After the Plague by Imogen Keeper

DNF after 1st Book.

After reading the first book in this collection, I was wholly and entirely underwhelmed and I feel no desire to keep going. Even after "emotional punches" I just didn't feel anything. I was bored the entire time. I was going to continue reading but after reading some reviews I have absolutely no desire to. 

Frankie fell extremely flat, and it seemed like her only personality was her husband. And Yorke? We barely learn anything about him other than that he's horny. I don't care about either of them. At all. Auden was cute and the dog was cute but two characters being cute will not make me feel any need to finish a three book collection.

This book feels like it was written in the midst of COVID by someone who was extremely bored and unable to leave their house. Nothing against that but after living through that pandemic myself, I don't want to read a boring book about basically the same thing. The author makes grim jokes throughout that the readers are supposed to find funny but I did not laugh once.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange of an honest review.

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Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around

This is quite possibly the most unnecessary sequel that I have ever had the misfortune of reading.

Josh and Gemma are happy. Gemma’s finally pregnant and their wedding is approaching very quickly. When things suddenly flip and Josh and Gemma are left to battle a whirlwind of emotions and they have to relearn what love really and truly is.

The book was a giant Ian Fortune redemption arc. NOBODY WANTED THAT. When I saw that in the description of this book it said that this was a “highly anticipated sequel” I was skeptical. I couldn’t think of a single thing in the first book that called for a sequel. I ADORED Josh and Gemma Make a Baby, I couldn’t get enough of it. So even though I didn’t really want or expect a sequel I knew that I was going to read it. I ultimately wish that I hadn’t. It was miserable.

The entire concept of the book (a relationship having to overcome a traumatic brain injury leaving one of them unable to feel love) was interesting. I also think it was a subject that the author was unprepared to write about. From the get go, Gemma being “unable to feel” was complete and utter BS. Before she even realized that she wasn’t able to feel she was telling us how she was feeling. She was scared, she didn’t know where she was or her baby was. When she finally saw her baby she was upset when she realized her baby didn’t know her. And then we’re supposed to believe that she doesn’t still feel love for her baby? For Josh? The entire thing didn’t make sense. If she didn’t feel any love for Josh why would she even make it her mission to fall back in love with him so that he could be happy. THAT IS LOVE… I just didn’t really understand the point of saying she was numb when she so clearly wasn’t.

Now for Ian Fortune… I still do not care. I hate him. I don’t care about his traumatic backstory or his reasoning behind him being an overall shitty person. I DO NOT CARE. Nobody wanted a redemption arc for him so I am utterly confused as to why we got one. At times the romance seemed like it was between Gemma and Ian instead of Gemma and Josh. It was so annoying every time he showed up and I felt the book dragging on and on simply because he existed.

This book was unnecessary. Maybe I would think differently if it was a standalone and wasn’t cheaply piggybacking off of the popularity of Josh and Gemma, but sadly it was. Josh and Gemma Make a Baby was extremely cute on its own. This sequel just ruined everything. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this if you are a fan of the first book.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars.

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Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

Sewanee didn't want to be an audiobook narrator but after her dreams of being an actress are crushed by a freak accident, this is the next best thing. It makes her enough money to take care of her grandmother and that is all she needs. An opportunity arises to narrate an extremely popular romance book (which she swore off of narrating years ago) alongside an extremely popular audiobook narrator by the name of Brock McKnight, and she just can't say no.

In my opinion, this book was meh. Lackluster. Any other words that describe a mid book. I was not invested in anything. The characters, the plot, the conflict, all of it. It just bored meeee.

Maybe if this book had been 100 pages shorter (maybe even 150?) I would've found some enjoyment in it. Once a romance book hits the 400 page mark though, there's an 80% chance I'm going to find it boring because of too many details. This book falls into that category.

I did enjoy the first few chapters, but after that, I literally cannot tell you what happened. I just finished it and I feel like I know nothing about this book. Could I have paid better attention? Yes. Would I go back and try to pay more attention? Definitely not, it's just not worth it.

Now don't let my opinion sway you. Perhaps if I cared even a little bit more about the characters I would've enjoyed it. However, I did not, and my rating will reflect that.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

2.5 stars.

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Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez knows what she's doing.

This book is an emotional roller coaster and an AMAZING one at that. I haven't cried over a book like I did over this one in so long. I was seriously sobbing all throughout the epilogue, because Yours Truly not only broke me but it healed me all at once.

Briana Ortiz can't trust men. After her father left her and her family when she was young and her husband left her for her best friend, she has sworn off serious relationships for life. She doesn't have time for serious relationships anyway, not with her brother being in the hospital in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Meanwhile, Jacob Maddox is in the midst of a hard breakup: his ex-wife leaving him for his brother. When his brother announces his engagement, he has to prove that he is over his ex, and what better way to do that than with a girl who doesn't want any strings attached.

When I say I had no issues with this book, I mean it. It was perfect. The relationship between Briana and Jacob was beautifully crafted and it was wonderful to read about it. And might I just say, it was refreshing for the male MC to be the insecure one in the relationship for once. I absolutely adored every second of this novel and I would 100% recommend that EVERYONE give it a try.

Five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A Light in the Sky by Shina Reynolds

DNF at 25%

Under completely normal circumstances I most likely would've finished this book, but I find myself extremely busy these days and I simply don't have the time to finish a book that I am not loving. That's not to say that this book isn't enjoyable, as I have found myself interested in the plot from the beginning. It is just the way that the book is written that is causing me to not want to continue.

This book is written almost exactly like Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, so I can see why they included the title of that book in this one's blurb. I first read Victoria Aveyard's novel in middle school and I really loved it, however when I reread the book at some point last year I felt that I had outgrown it and that I should've kept it in the past. That is almost exactly how I feel about the writing of A Light in the Sky. It just feels too young for me, like something I would've enjoyed back in the day.

That is not to say that this is not a good book, I just do not think it was meant for me at this point in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

DNF at 22%

June Chu is sick of living up to what everyone else wants her to be. On a journey of self discovery, she learns more about sex, love, and her own identity as an Asian American woman.

The premise of this book is more interesting than the book itself by a long shot. Almost 25% into the book there hasn't been any plot, and what there has been plotwise is either still boring or super cringy. I stopped right after June is desperately trying to have sex with Rhys. Just reading that part gave me the ick for no particular reason other than just June acting like she was entitled to have sex with him. It was not fun to read... at all.

The main issue I had with this book though is how much I hate June. She is INSUFFERABLE. I get that she's a teenager and that she wants to fit in with the cool kids, yada yada yada, I don't care. June was about one sentence away from driving me to gauge my eyes out. I mean, seriously. She was annoying all the way around.

From the get-go June seems like she would 100% pick her "almost boyfriend" (don't even get me started on that) over her friends. And then she kinda does! Unsurprising. I'm sure if I had gone farther into the book there would've been some kind of fallout between her and at least one of the other girls in the trio. One excerpt I would like to bring up as proof is this:

"Savannah was Liz's next-door neighbor, whom Candace and I had been friends with since middle school. When Liz moved next door to her, we all became close friends-- until Savannah got her braces off, made the cheerleading squad, and became obsessed with things like football games and spray tans. I'd always assumed Liz stayed friends with her out of convenience because she relied on Savannah for rides to school, but who knew why any friendships worked."

Maybe Savannah doesn't want to be friends with you anymore because you judge her based on her interests? I don't know, just food for thought. Friends grow apart for sure but there was no reason for this to be brought up at all other than to keep June up on her high horse assuming that she's better than anyone else. It doesn't even say that Savannah did anything wrong. I could understand June's perspective if June wasn't trying to fit in with Rhys' friends so much that she allowed them to make racist jokes at her expense.

June's mother even does her laundry for her (very thoughtful!) but June gets mad at her for it because she doesn't do it quite right. Girl. She did your chore for you. At least be a little grateful.

Can you tell I hate June?

All in all, this was not an enjoyable experience. I'm surprised I made it as far into the book as I did, to be quite honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and PeachTree Teen for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

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The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

After Freya is dumped by her fiance on the day before their wedding, she is left distraught and with the prospect of seven weddings to attend over the summer. In order to make this a more bearable experience for Freya (and to help her get over her ex) her friends give her a list of tasks to do, one for every wedding she attends.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, to be honest! I was expecting your run-of-the-mill rom-com but received so much more than that. There were so many fun moments that left me laughing or on the edge of my seat for more.

I think my biggest gripe about this book though is that it's advertised as a romantic comedy when the romance isn't even that big of a part of the story. I never really felt any chemistry between the romantic leads, because it seemed like Freya just went "oh no, I can't possibly like him!" and then her friends told her differently so she went with it. I genuinely wouldn't have found any issue with this, had this book not been marketed as a rom-com. Other than that though, it was a really enjoyable experience!

4 stars.

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Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu

DNF at 18%.

Co-workers Cadence and Matt are pretty much expected to get together, everyone at the company sees it but them. While Cadence's family has become strained and she wants a new start, Matt's family has been nagging him to find someone to settle down with. Naturally, the best way to solve both of their issues is to fake date!

I know, I know, I'm DNF-ing pretty early on, but I can already tell that this book is not for me. I'm not vibing with the characters, and to be quite frank, I'm starting to get tired of the fake dating trope as a whole. Maybe I've just read too many of them in the past few months, or maybe the trope is tired and authors should set it aside for a bit. Either way, I don't want to read it.

I'm also not finding the humor very funny... I don't know if I'm just being picky but these jokes aren't even making me smile the tiniest bit. The banter between the main characters doesn't give me friends vibes, it just gives me co-worker vibes. And let's be clear, there is no way that either one of them didn't know about the other's feelings for one another. They were so obvious about it, it hurt.

I've read some other reviews as well, and from what I've read it seems like this is the best possible decision for me. This book was doomed from the start. I was never going to like these characters, even if the trope had been different. It seemed promising when I first heard of it and I had heard really great things about Tieu's other novel, The Donut Trap, but I am just never going to get hooked onto this one. Maybe at some point I will come back around to it and give a proper full review, but honestly it seems pretty doubtful.

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The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa

After crashing Dean's wedding, Solange is drowning in guilt. What better could she do than fake date the man whose marriage she stopped just so that he can get a promotion?

As much as I wanted to love this book, I never really found myself attached to any of the characters. Their backstories being randomly thrown in with little to no relevancy fell flat for me and I just didn't really feel an urge to root for them either. Solange and Dean had chemistry for sure, but I wasn't fully convinced that they were meant to be together.

I did love a lot of the plot points. It was cute and definitely a lighthearted read that I can see a lot of people enjoying. Although some of the events came off as cringy (*cough cough* the When Harry Met Sally scene reenactment *cough*), it was completely salvaged by the really adorable ending. Even though I wasn't super into the story, I was grinning at the end.

I think my biggest issue was just never being able to get sucked in. Had I actually connected with the characters, I probably would've enjoyed this book a lot more than I did. However, the ending does give it some bonus points.

3.5 stars.

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How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Grey Brooks is an ex-soap opera star who can't seem to find new work since her breakout role ended. Ethan Atkins is a superstar whose reputation has gone off the deep end since his best friend died. Put together by their agents, a plan has been set forth to get both of their careers back on track. In the midst of fake dating though, who wouldn't fall in love?

While this book took me a lot longer than normal to read, I felt it was one of the better ones I've read this year. I could really feel the chemistry between the main characters, and it didn't seem forced at all. Grey and Ethan could've been real celebrities and I would've believed every second of it. The relationship just felt so real!

I think this partly has to do with the inclusion of mental health and addiction in both romance and career. A lot of Ethan's struggles I know will be relatable to many. The portrayal of his mental health was done in a very tasteful but also realistic way, and I appreciate the way things played out in the end.

Like I stated previously, this book took me a lot longer to read than normal. I think this is because of the pacing of the book. There were a lot of fast parts but then when it wasn't going fast it felt like it was dragging on and on. I kept finding myself wishing I were doing something else while reading, so I did do something else haha.

Overall, this book was really enjoyable, and I'm so glad I got to read it!

4 stars.

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If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So

Elsie has just finished her A-Level exams and is ready for summer. Her crush, Ada (who happens to live overseas), has just told her about her grandmother's past love story and shown her all of the letters her best friend Theresa had sent her. In an attempt to woo Ada, Elsie takes it upon herself to find Theresa and reconnect her with the love of her life. But now, things get complicated when Elsie's childhood best friend has just come back from Hong Kong- after not speaking to her for seven years.

This book is what I needed when I was figuring out my sexuality. Elsie is bi, and her story is almost exact to mine. I think if this book were to come out back then, I might have liked it a tiny bit more than I did now. That's not to say I didn't like it! It was a beautiful story with so many important conversations weaved into it and I think it is even one of the best queer books I have read.

That being said, there were a lot of slow bits throughout the book where I felt like nothing was ever going to happen. The beginning is slow, so slow even that I thought about DNF-ing at first. I am very glad I didn't in the long run, but it has affected my overall rating of the book.

I also didn't really feel any buildup with the relationship... It just seemed like all of a sudden it was there. There wasn't a lot of chemistry beforehand. All that being said, once it was there it was SO adorable and I really loved it. I just wish I could've been more convinced that they actually had feelings for one another beforehand.

Overall, this was a truly amazing book. I would definitely recommend this to anybody who is questioning their sexuality or anyone who is struggling with coming out to their family. I will definitely look for more works from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Little Tiger for providing an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

4 stars.