maggiestraveledbookshelf's reviews
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📖 Where Happiness Begins

📚 Book 3 of Evermore Series

✍🏻 N.S. Perkins 

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 3.75

🌶️🌶️

“𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚.”

This was a really sweet romance!!

Overview: 

•Marriage of Convenience 

•Grumpy/Sunshine

•Chronic Illness Rep

•Only One Bed

•”My Wife”

•Dual Timeline-ish + Dual POV

𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱. 𝗦𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱.

I loveeee a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, and both Lilianne and Carter were so endearing in their respective roles. Their relationship progression was truly sweet!

𝙄 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧, “𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙬.”

𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢. “𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙜 𝙢𝙚.”

The depiction of alcoholism felt so raw and real, and I loved the evolved relationship between Frank and Carter. Support is necessary in life, whether we want it or not. 

“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙝𝙤𝙡, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚.”

And the everlasting bond between Lilianne and her dad? So incredibly powerful. I love the message that we don’t need to know every single thing about someone in order to ~know~ their hearts. 

 “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡.”

Some parts of the plot fell short for me, like how her role as the band promoter seemed slightly superfluous. I also wanted a little more character depth for Lilianne. 

This was my first book from the author, and I did enjoy it! I will definitely read her other works as this was super readable and fun.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighthearted romance with some heavier topics! 

TW: alcoholism, death of a parent

✨ Read via Kindle Unlimited ✨ 

📚 This can be read as standalone, but it’s technically the first book of a trilogy. 

✍🏻 Jojo Moyes

☑️ Contemporary Fiction 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙠, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

Because this book came out over ten years ago and was then adapted into a movie, I don’t think it needs much introduction. But just in case…

Overview: 

•Heart-wrenching

•Opposites Attract

•Personal Growth

•Morality Dilemma  

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝟮𝟬𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.

🤍 I thoroughly loved this book!!!

Let me start with this: A few years ago, I watched this movie without knowing it was a book (Emilia Clark and Sam Claflin!!!! I love them both). I have read a few books this year by Jojo Moyes, so I figured I would try this one too.

Louisa Clark’s character jumps off the page from the very beginning. From the way she interacts with her sister to her growth journey, the writing takes you inside her head and heart in such an intimate way. 

Sometimes we don’t know how we’ll react to a situation until we are in it, and watching Louisa stand tall in who she is, fight for what she believes, and allow her perspective to be broadened was the highlight of the book for me. 

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙚𝙣𝙙.”

I have never been a caregiver, and I also have an Able Body. So I can’t speak directly to the accuracy of the representation of quadriplegic people nor the people around them. 

However, I found the way she depicted their evolving relationships and dialogue about Huge Decisions compelling and meaningful.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚—𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬—𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙊𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.”

The chemistry and connection between Will and Louisa were palpable. I loved the way they pushed each other, in their own needed ways. 

Their relationship felt so viscerally real, and even though I wouldn’t call this book a romance, it was still a beautiful love story.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡’𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

I loved that we got an occasional chapter from side characters’ POVs!! Genuinely loved those chapters because it gave the story another dimension. 

Plus, with an ending like this one, I felt it was vitally important to have that “outside looking in” perspective.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚.”

There were so many other smaller aspects I loved about this story! The depiction of sisterhood. The struggle of breaking out of habits. The importance of choice. The power of connection. 

Jojo Moyes wrote a book wrought with frustratingly realistic characters and a heavy moral question. It’s impossible to read this book without self-reflection and empathy. 

Even though I knew how this book would end (due to seeing the movie), I still found myself captivated by every page.

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙠. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙟𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩.

This book stretched my heart. I cannot think of a single aspect that I didn’t appreciate.

Overall, I obviously recommend this book to anyone who wants a heavier story! 

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

📖 Business Casual

📚 Book 4 (final) in Lovelight series

✍🏻 B.K. Borison

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️🌶️.5

“𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚.”

“𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮, 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚. “𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”

What a sweet conclusion to this heartwarming romance series!! 

Overview:

•Small Town Romance

•Tattoo Artist FMC

•Black Cat/Golden Retriever 

•Opposites Attract

•”Just for One Night”

𝗡𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲.

This was such a lovely read! I love this entire cast of characters, and I’m so glad we got to see all eight main characters during this book. 

B.K. Borison depicts the coziness and quirkiness of small town life so well. The phone tree makes my heart so happy, and this series fulfills the part of my heart that adores Gilmore Girls.

Nova’s determination and insecurities felt so relatable. She had these self-imposed standards of perfection, and it’s easy to empathize with her.

𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚.

Charlie’s heart seemed to beat for others. His endless generosity, fierce loyalty, and attention to details made him one of my favorites characters of this series!

Plus, Charlie and Nova’s banter and increasingly intense flirting made their relationship development so fun. 

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚.”

“𝙄𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨,” 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨.

“𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡,” 𝙄 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠.

I also loved the conversations between Beckett and Nova, which showed how family expectations, direct or derived, are hard to manage. 

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪—𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝙖𝙢. 𝙊𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠—𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

I do feel like some of their internalized insecurities ran the book too much, with constant emphasis on “I don’t feel worthy/enough”. Which is an extremely valid feeling, but it felt a little repetitive by the end for me.

Being immersed back in this charming small town was so fun, and I think her author’s note at the end perfectly depicts why I adore it so much:

“𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿: 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀—𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲.”

The world always needs more love and kindness and belonging. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this whole series to all romance lovers! (Read in publication order!)

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

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Other favorite lines:

𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙠, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣.

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙀: 𝙒𝙝𝙮? 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡?

𝙉𝙊𝙑𝘼: 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚.

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙀: 𝙁𝙪𝙘𝙠.

📖 The Wedding People

✍🏻 Alison Espach

☑️ Contemporary Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 4.25

“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣.”

I really enjoyed this book! It feels like a mashup of A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman) and Happy Place (Emily Henry). 

Overview:

•Lavish Wedding Festivities 

•Newport, Rhode Island 

•Serendipitous Meetings

•Life Pivots

•Mental Health Rep

CW: Suicidal Ideation, Infertility 

𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.

First of all, I love books that tap into the vulnerability of being human. There was so much heart and dark humor, and it had such a unique setup that I can genuinely see it as a movie. 

While there was on overall heaviness especially in the beginning, the characters had me immediately invested. 

𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙧𝙚…

Phoebe was an incredibly relatable and endearing main character. Her introspection and frankness felt so fresh, and her growth from beginning to end was inspiring. 

𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙩. 𝙏𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙, 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚.

When authors write about depression, I often feel like they can be cliché or heavy handed, but Espach portrayed mental health with a candid and honest view. There were so many lines that struck a personal chord. 

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙙, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.

Beyond her musings on mental health, I loved how Espach crafted the character of Phoebe. It’s common to see characters who have high expectations for themselves, but I love when they do the work of diving deeper. 

Plus, she forced herself to check her own assumptions about others. Espach created a book where each character had depth and connection.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙭𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙨? 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨: 𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

So many of the characters were reflecting on whom they are and what they want out of life, and I appreciated the nuanced narrative of their intertwining relationships. 

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚, 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙗𝙞𝙜, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩, 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙩.

While I really loved the beginning and end of this book, there were a few too many meandering monologues in the middle. The dialogue felt a little forced, and that is one of my bookish pet peeves. 

There were themes of friendship, personal growth, meaning of life, and human connection. I will always appreciate books that make me think about life’s big questions while also entertaining me by wild fictional stories, so this book scores top marks on that account.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone wanting an introspective and evocative story! 

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

📖 The Frozen River

✍🏻 Ariel Lawhon

☑️ Historical Fiction 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5

CW: Rape 

“𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 

𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮.”

Wow. What an incredible, layered historical fiction that showcases the strength of its genre!

Overview:

•Set in Maine 1789

•Mystery/Thriller Vibes

•Midwife FMC

•Inspired by a Real Person

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟬𝘀, 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story!!

For starters, I always love books based on true events and/or real people. Martha Ballard was a midwife who detailed her days in a journal, which was thankfully preserved. 

𝙈𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙥𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚, 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚.

Admittedly, I haven’t read many books set in this time period, so learning about her midwifery norms and the early court systems was so fascinating. 

One of the shining points of this book: the marriage and eternal love between Martha and her husband of 35 years, Ephraim. 

Their love story is inspiring. The way he taught her to read and write, their jovial banter, their protective and steadfast bond… It is genuinely a more romantic relationship than some romance books. 

“𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚?” “𝙉𝙤.” “𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪?” “𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙.” “𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙨𝙠. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩.”

If I hope to embody any character, I hope to become more like Martha. She commands the respect of every room, she preserves through extreme pressure and hardship, and she remains true to her values. 

“𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩.”

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢.”

“𝙄 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

But she also is human and is therefore flawed and layered. The depiction of motherhood and all of its intricacies felt so intimate and relatable. I’m not sure I’ve ever related to a character more than when she said:

“𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”

There is grief and joy and trauma and kinship, and Ariel Lawhon depicts this all within a thrilling and tender story. The way she used the different characters and interwoven plot lines was exquisitely satisfying. 

And you MUST read the Author’s Note at the end of the book.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone.

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

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A little snippet from the Author’s Note:

“𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗮𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁.”

📖 Savor It

✍🏻 Tarah DeWitt

☑️ Contemporary Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 3.75

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝙎𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝…𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙚.”

This was an overall sweet book!

Overview: 

•Small Town Romance

•Single Guardian MMC

•Grumpy/Sunshine

•Pacific Northwest Setting

•Adorable Animals 

•Dual POV

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.

First of all: I’ve read all of Tarah DeWitt’s books, and nothing has quite lived up to my obsessive love with Funny Feelings. 

Sage is equally vivacious and independent. She lives and loves with her whole being, but sometimes internalized doubts about herself get in her own way.

“𝘼𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙄 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜... 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙎𝙖𝙜𝙚.”

Fisher, a recently-fired renowned chef, was such an interesting character! I loved how he grappled with his evolving definition of success and how he continually tried to be the best guardian to his niece Indy. 

𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧... 𝙄𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨.

Between Sage’s orphan status and Fisher’s late sister, grief was ever present. I thoroughly loved the journal of notes that Sage carried around.

𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨, “𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣.” ... 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨.

Being a guardian/parent can be incredibly difficult, especially when it comes to big life lessons. So I loved how Fisher struggled with how to advise Indy at the end of the story.

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨? 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜? 𝙏𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚’𝙨. 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚.”

From an outside POV, I should adore this book. So it was a little disappointing that I couldn’t connect with the characters as much as I hoped. I think I wanted more relationship development and depth? 

Plus, the pacing was a little off for me. 

I can see why others LOVE this book because it truly is a really sweet story about savoring every moment, especially in such an idyllic setting. 

Also -  I will read the next book about Wren and Ellis because they were honestly one of the most intriguing parts of this book for me. 

Overall, I would still recommend this book as a lighthearted and spicy story! 

✨ Read via Kindle Unlimited ✨ 

📖 The Will of the Many

✍🏻 James Islington

☑️ Fantasy

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5

“𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙑𝙞𝙨. 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩? 𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚?”

WOW. What an incredible book!!! I have so many thoughts. 

Overview:

•Classic Fantasy Feel

•Dark Academia

•Hidden Identity 

•Complex Magic System 

•Good Doggo

𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆, 𝗮 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀.

Oftentimes, I write a review immediately after finishing a book. 

For this one, I needed to marinate my thoughts - partially because I have so many and partially because that ending had my brain exploding. Buckle up; we have a lot to cover. 

𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:

I want my books (even fantasy) to have a primary plot line devoted to romance. There is a very minor love story (like very very minor), but that didn’t detract from my reading experience - even as a romance lover. 

𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁:

I saw MANY parallels between Vis and Celaena Sardothien (from Throne of Glass). As someone who absolutely LOVES that character, it was such a treat. 

𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆-𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆:

The world-building and the character dynamics are some of the strongest parts of this book. There were continual plot twists and turns, and with all the characters having strong convictions and layers, it was hard to predict what would happen next.

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨. 𝙎𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.”

“𝘼𝙡𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩,” 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙚.

The gradual reveal of Vis’s past made his character such a powerful force. He is not a completed human - he’s right in the middle of becoming, of working through his grief, of finding his place. 

𝙈𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨... 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙮.

The politics of this world deftly paralleled our own, and it is a sharp commentary of the impact of strong leadership and a willingness to do the work. 

“𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙤. 𝙄𝙣𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮.”

Revenge (or the promise of revenge) made its appearance throughout the entirety of the narrative, from his orphanage to the final chapters. And it made my skin feel electric. 

𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣. 𝙄 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝. “𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨.”

I could honestly write pages and pages about this book because there are so many plot lines and incredibly complex characters and potential theories and ‘what the f*ck’ moments. It’s hard to believe this book primarily revolves around teenagers because it felt so mature.

So I’ll just summarize and say this book portrays themes of justice, greed, trust, and family in a way the feels both classic and unique - and yes, I cannot wait for the second book. 

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆, 𝗜 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸!

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

📖 This Summer Will Be Different 
✍🏻 Carley Fortune 
☑️ Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ | 4.25
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

“𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.”

This was my first Carley Fortune book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!! 

Overview:
•Swoony Romance
•Dual Timeline
•Summer Vibes
•Prince Edward Island, Canada
•Ode to Flowers and Books

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹?

This was such a sweet romance story!! I appreciated how Lucy and Felix’s relationship grew a deep connection with mutual respect and love. 

Plus, their chemistry felt so strong from the start, and the spice was spicing.

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣. 𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙭 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤. 𝙃𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨.”

The friendship between Lucy and Bridget was equally important. While I didn’t love how certain aspects played out (such as The Big Reason), their relationship was so endearing. 

I’m ALL for celebrating friendship and community as much as partnership. 

"𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩… 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝. 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙄 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧.“

The setting of this story - which alternated between Toronto and Prince Edward Island - was totally immersive, and it makes me want to visit PEI immediately.

Plus, all the nods to Anne of Green Gables were lovely. 

There was a somber thread woven through the story. From the grief of loss to the pain of growth, it made this book feel incredibly human and impactful. 

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠, 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨, 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩.”

Some of the internal growth felt a little rushed at the end, and I wish we would’ve seen some throughout the middle.

But I fully appreciated how they developed their relationship and came to certain decisions. 

The author’s note at the end talked about the importance of “fun” and how we all need more of it in our lives. I agree, and this book exemplifies that.

Overall, if you want a swoony and steamy summer romance, I recommend this book!!

✨ Read via Borrowed Physical Copy ✨

📖 Beyond the Point

✍🏻 Claire Gibson

☑️ Literary Fiction

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5

“𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚.”

Wow, what an impactful and captivating book! This story is all about the power of women and friendship. 

Overview:

•Historical Fiction (2000-2007)

•Women in the Military 

•Impact of Friendships

•Multiple POVs

•Grief and Loss 

𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟵/𝟭𝟭 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱.

This story hit a personal note for me, as I’m married to my West Point graduate.

(And for those who don’t know, West Point is the United States Military Academy. It’s a rigorous college that combines coursework with army training.)

—> “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 10 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙊𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 15 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚.”

Hannah, Dani, and Avery felt so real to me, like I was getting an up-close view of actual cadets’ lives at West Point. It is an incredibly unique place, and the good, the bad, & the ugly were all portrayed perfectly here. 

“𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 “𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤” 𝙛𝙪𝙣. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩; 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩.”

The story alternates between the three POVs. They are all on the WP basketball team, but each woman has such an individual voice and story. Dani, the innate leader with hidden pain. Heather, the army legacy with unflappable loyalty. Avery, the supposed wild child who can’t stop running. 

The author brought these women to life in such visceral, human ways. I related to all three, and I loved the reflective tone in which the narrative was told.

“𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙.”

The theme of friendship is the heart of this book. We watched the women navigate West Point hardships as they dealt with their internal struggles, but the shining point was how their bond evolved and withstood tremendous weight.

“𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙨. 𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.”

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say there’s a great deal of grief in this book. Because of the author’s commitment to portraying such a heartbreaking situation with integrity, the raw emotion and grief journey in this story was perfect.

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨, [𝙨𝙝𝙚] 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩.”

(Some other reviewers believe that this should be classified as Christian Fiction, but I respectfully disagree. While one of the characters refers to her faith frequently, I don’t believe that’s the predominant message here. It’s just one piece of a complex story.)

Also, I loved the section at the very end of the book that showcases the author’s interviews with a few actual West Point women. 

This book made me want to call my friends and just be a better friend in general. 

It also made me want to hug my Army husband and gather our military friends in one place so that I can just spend some precious time with some of my favorite humans. 

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about strong women and enduring friendships.

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

📖 Savor the Moment
📚 Book 3 of Bride Quartet series

✍🏻 Nora Roberts

☑️ Contemporary Romance 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

“𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚—𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜.”

Let me start with this: I’ve now read this series 8 or 9 times in the past 12 years. This is my OG favorite romance series, and I love it more with every reread.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE SERIES. 

Overview:

•Wedding Planning Business 

•Four Best Friends

•Baker FMC x Lawyer MMC

•Sweet and Swoony

•Top Tier Found Family

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿, 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗮, 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗰 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗼𝘄𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 (𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿) 𝗗𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.

Laurel is one of my Soul Characters. She has a quick fire temper and a pragmatist approach. Her way of thinking feels familiar and comforting. 

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮…𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧, 𝙖 𝙥𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬.”

I also don’t always love friends-to-lovers, so the fact that Laurel and Del could make me obsessed with this book speaks highly of them. 

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨.” 𝙃𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧. “𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙩𝙤𝙤.”

“𝙔𝙚𝙨, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬.”

“𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙. 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨....”

The conversations that happen between the four best friends remain one of my favorite parts of this series! Their Found-Family bond and banter and honest discussions make these books human and hilarious.

“𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘿𝙚𝙡?”

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩. 𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙄𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙚𝙨. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮. 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙯𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙩.”

As Del would say, this romance story has the perfect blend of tartness and sweetness. The ending scene makes my heart flutter every time. 

Overall, if you love romance books, especially those that center themselves around friendship, I full heartedly recommend this series.

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