maggiestraveledbookshelf's reviews
530 reviews

Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

Go to review page

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Review ⬇️

(Updated review, as of August 2024)

📖 Bed of Roses

📚 Book 2 of Bride Quartet series
✍🏻 Nora Roberts
☑️ Contemporary Romance 
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚.”

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.

Overview:
•Wedding Planning Business 
•Four Best Friends
•Florist FMC x Architect 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. 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?

Okay, first of all: While I absolutely love this series, this is my least favorite of the group. 

Emma is an optimistic and sugary sweet person (aka my opposite), and Jack is a slightly chauvinistic guy, but even though they aren’t my favorite couple, I still enjoyed their story. 

𝙃𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩? 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡.

One of my favorite parts of this series is the celebration of their entrepreneurial success. They have created the coolest work, and I will forever love the concept of four friends building a wedding business together.

𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙑𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

Decadent Romance is the heart of this book. It is woven through this story, from Emma’s parents’ love story to the couples they work with. It is heartfelt and earnest and really works for me.

𝙁𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙨. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨, 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨, 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨.

The friendship remains the soul of this series! I absolutely adore all the hilarious banter between the four women and the constant support they give one another. This scene is one of my favorites (IYKYK):

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙩. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛—” 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚. “𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙮.”

This book provides so many swoony and steamy moments, and it fulfills my romance-loving heart. 

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

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

📖 Not In Love
✍🏻 Ali Hazelwood
☑️ Contemporary Romance 
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝙄’𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.”

This is a departure from Ali Hazelwood’s usual rom-com style, and I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

Overview:
•STEM Romance
•Forbidden Love
•Angsty Vibes
•Spicy Spice
•He Falls HARD 

𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗥𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗹𝗶 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁, 𝗻𝗼-𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀-𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁-𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 - 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀.


This book dove into the grittiness with nuanced characters and darker themes.

Rue and Ali have both faced heavy hardships in their past (food insecurity, parenting problems, etc), and it’s formed them into complex humans. 

I loved how Ali Hazelwood crafted these characters with such integrity and innate humanness.

“𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚? 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙-𝙪𝙥 𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙?”


I saw myself in the character of Rue. As someone who also feels like she was born without a sense of humor, her introversion and serious nature felt so familiar.

𝙄𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨.


And I appreciated her no-nonsense attitude and pure confidence. I feel like Rue is different from all other Hazelwood’s FMCs, and I loved her resilience and her quiet fortitude.

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙.


Sex is a huge part of this narrative, which makes so much sense in this context. Rue uses sex as a defense mechanism, and I appreciated that every sex scene had its purpose in moving the story forward. 

Also - Eli was OBSESSED with Rue. In an awe inspiring way. 

“𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙄’𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡.” 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝. “𝙍𝙪𝙚. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”


A hidden gem of this book: the banter between Eli and his friends.

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚—”
𝙀𝙡𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?”
“𝙃𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙧-𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨. ‘𝙄 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙯, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙡’ 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮.”


My main drawback of this book: It was a little too insta-love for my preferences with how quickly they became attached.

Overall, I would recommend this book to all romance lovers who appreciate some extra angst and don’t mind a sexual narrative!

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 
Vows & Ruins by Helen Scheuerer

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

📖 Vows & Ruins
📚 Book 2 of The Legends of Thezmarr series
✍🏻 Helen Scheuerer
☑️ Romantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥.”

This one sadly didn’t work for me.

Overview:
•Mentor MMC x Mentee FMC
•Magic Training
•Dual POV
•LOTS of Spice
•Battle Sequences 

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻, 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 - 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵?

Let’s start with the parts I enjoyed: 

I still love the Found Family between Thea, Kipp, and Cal. Their chemistry and banter brought much needed levity.

‘𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?’ 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙.
‘𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙩, 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨,’ 𝙆𝙞𝙥𝙥 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙. ‘𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?’

Wilder supported Thea through her training and her battles, and I love how he seems in awe of her.

“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙, 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙥, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

Okay. It’s possible that I had too high of expectations, or maybe I’m in a fantasy slump, but there are several aspects that frustrated me.

First of all, I’m all for spicy scenes. But this was a ridiculous amount of smut. It didn’t matter what was happening in the plot, they were sneaking away to have sex. It just felt so unnecessary, and it honestly made me like them less as characters that they focused on only themselves in certain situations…

“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝.”

Second of all, the plot seemed to barely move forward. There were a few secrets revealed, but it just didn’t have enough momentum or structure throughout the narrative.

Lastly, for supposed “secrets”, there was little care for discretion when they were in public spaces, readily talking about all types of secrets while people can easily overhear. 

I wanted more of the magic and the fantasy world elements!! Hopefully those will come more in the next books, and I think I’ll try to keep reading… after a break.


Overall, I’m not sure I would recommend this series yet. To be determined. 

✨ Read via kindle unlimited ✨ 
Magnolia Parks: Into the Dark by Jessa Hastings

Go to review page

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

📖 Magnolia Parks: Into The Dark
📚 Book 5 in the Magnolia Parks Universe 
✍🏻 Jessa Hastings
☑️ Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.75
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

My HEART. This book both broke my heart and patched it back up.

Overview: 
•Soulmates
•Journey with Grief
•Dysfunctional Family
•Life’s Purpose

𝗔𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗝 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

I would’ve never guessed when I started this series that this book would unfold how it did. 

My goodness… what a journey. The grief, the heartache, the growth, the joy. I loved every minute of this final BJ/Magnolia book. 

It’s hard to talk about this book without any spoilers, and I’m not really going to do my typical review style, so STOP NOW if you don’t want any spoilers. 

…

…

This is your last warning!!!

…

…

Okay, unhinged thought ramble:

I really, really didn’t think Bridget actually died 😭 It felt like a punch to the gut when I started this book, and she was dead. I was not prepared. With that said, Jessa depicted the grief journey perfectly. 

I loveddddd their therapy sessions. It felt so quintessentially *them*, and they needed it. 

When her dad yelled at her?? OMG. My jaw dropped!! 👀 

One unanswered BJ+M question: What is the second regret/the mysterious thing that BJ knows involving Harley in the past??

The entire last 20% of the book had me in full heart-eyes, clutching my chest mode. 

And maybe most importantly, I NEED THE NEXT DAISY BOOK. Like, tomorrow!!!!!!

Overall, what a story!!!

…


To conclude, some of my favorite quotes:

“𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 . . . 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝘼 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙘 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮.”

“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.”

“𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨.”
“𝙃𝙤𝙬?” 𝙄 𝙖𝙨𝙠.
𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮. “𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.”

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙮.” 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙠 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠; 𝙄’𝙢 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜—𝘽𝙅’𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙤𝙤.”

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡.” 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙨. “𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙.”
Finding Me by Viola Davis

Go to review page

inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

📖 Finding Me
✍🏻 Viola Davis
☑️ Memoir
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩.”

What a poignant and insightful memoir!

Overview:
•Celebrity Memoir
•Traumatic Childhood
•Honest Reflections
•Courageous Honesty

𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘂𝗽𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.

This was not a lighthearted read. As a child, and through adulthood, Viola has gone through horrific situations. So her reflections and her emotional stamina made this memoir quite impactful. 

She speaks at length about her parents and her siblings. The poverty, the domestic violence, the racism, the food insecurity… It puts things in perspective. I found her outlook on her parents (her dad specifically) so interesting. 

“𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙣.”

She also relays her personal insecurities and how she often questioned her own worth, and the most inspiring part of this book to me is how she grew into such a confident person.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.”

She honestly depicts her experience as a dark-skinned Black woman - both as an actress and as a person. As a white person, that perspective is always eye-opening and an important reminder.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙡. 𝙈𝙞𝙭 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.”

One of my favorite parts of this book was when she described her trip to Africa. The specific memories of the different people that she met and their dances and songs and conversations… It felt special to hear. 

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙-𝙪𝙥, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.”

The only thing I knew about her prior to this memoir is that she was an actress. Hearing her talk about her winding journey through the world of acting was simply inspiring.

“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”

I wish I was an Audiobook person because I’ve heard incredible things about this audio version, and I can only imagine it would elevate this memoir to even greater heights. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!

*available via Kindle Unlimited*

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing by Jessa Hastings

Go to review page

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

📖 Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing
📚 Book 4 in the Magnolia Parks Universe 
✍🏻 Jessa Hastings
☑️ Contemporary Romance-Adjacent 
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

I devoured this book within 24 hours. It’s so brutal, and I LOVE IT.

Overview:
•Multiple POVs (Christian/Daisy/Julian)
•London High Society
•Top Crime Families
•Intertwined Lives
•Rollercoaster Drama

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.

Okay, I need to start with this: It takes some impressive writing to convey the same scene from multiple POVs with equally interesting angles. It has such a cinematic feel! 

📕 There are some plots points that we KNOW are coming because of the previous book, but my heart was actively racing as these different characters were approaching those pinnacle moments. 

So brava, Jessa Hastings 👏🏻 Now let’s talk characters…

🤍 Christian. Oh sweet Christian, I feel like he’s gone through the most growth since book one! I absolutely adored him in this book, the way he loves full throttle. 

“𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣?”
“𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙.”

🤍 Daisy. I honestly feel so proud of her in this book! She’s a spitfire who knows what she wants, and she is doing everything she can to protect the ones she loves.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙮𝙣𝙭 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙, 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩—𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙢𝙖? 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙’𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨.”

🤍 Julian. JULIAN. My heart is breaking for this poor man. His character is so embedded in my heart that I’m literally thinking of his anguish when I listen to certain songs. 

“𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙩… 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨. 𝙄’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚.”

💫 Unexpected Highlight: I loved the interactions between Magnolia and all of the characters in this book. There’s something so refreshing and fun about seeing her character when not in her POV. 

“𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙮! 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩.”

It occurred to me that only one more book is currently out, and I don’t know when the next Daisy book is coming?? And that has me STRESSED. Because this ending…

Anyways, these characters are embedding themselves into my heart, and I need to start the next book immediately.

✨ Read via Purchased Ebook ✨ 
Magnolia Parks: The Long Way Home by Jessa Hastings

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

📖 Magnolia Parks: The Long Way Home
📚 Book 3 in the Magnolia Parks universe 
✍🏻 Jessa Hastings
☑️ Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ | 4.25
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮.”

I’m fully obsessed with this series at this point. 

Overview:
•Messy Romance
•Trauma Bonds
•London High Society
•Themes of Trust and Forgiveness 

𝗔 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗝 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲.

I’m honestly reeling at the end of this book… OOF. I will try to keep this spoiler free:

The emotional damage of this book is on a new level. Magnolia and BJ are so frustrating with their repetitive natures, but I can’t help but root for them to find steady ground.

There are so many interwoven dynamics, and I loved how past secrets were revealed and how genuine trauma is shown in their present day interactions.

I’m somehow invested in every single storyline, as chaotic and ridiculous as they can be. I don’t know how Jessa Hastings is making me love characters that I would typically hate…. Yet here I am.

Also, Bridget Parks is my FAVORITE character in this series. That’s all. 

Overall, I still don’t know if I would *recommend* this series… but I proudly admit that I’m loving it! (It’s confusing, I know.)

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 


Some favorite quotes (excluding the ones that have serious spoilers!!!) ⬇️

"𝘼 𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙," 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙩. "𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚."
𝙃𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙙𝙨.
"𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄'𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧." 𝙃𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣, 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨. "𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙖 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙩."
——
𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚.
"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜?" 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚.
𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.
——
"𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙧," 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮. "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧."
——
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣, 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩." 𝙄 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠. "𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣."

SPOILERS WITHOUT CONTEXT BELOW!!!

***
**
*
**
***

“𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨.”
——
"𝙎𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩?" 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧.
𝙄 𝙣𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧. "𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩. 𝙃𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜."
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙. "𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩."
𝙄 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧. "𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙩."
——
"𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙃𝙚𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨. 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙎𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙨𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮." 𝙃𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠. "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 — 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 - 𝙄'𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙣."
——
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩.
𝙎𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚.
😭🤯😭🤯😭
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

📖 First Lie Wins
✍🏻 Ashley Elston
☑️ Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”

I saw this book everywhere this year and wanted to give it a try - and it was a fun ride!

Overview:
•Psychological Thriller 
•Cat and Mouse Game
•Untrustworthy Characters 
•Multiple Timelines

𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗿. 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗲𝗿. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻, 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝘄𝗿𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀.

As someone who has only read one thriller this year (out of 100 books so far), I don’t have much to compare this with, but I thought this was an enjoyable story with steady pacing and plenty of twists!

There are many plot lines and character threads weaving together, and I found myself questioning everyone and trying to guess the lies.

If you want a fun thriller that’s not scary (imho as a scaredy cat), then I think this would be a good choice.

Overall, I would recommend this book!

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

📖 The One Hundred Lives of Lenni and Margot
✍🏻 Marianne Cronin
☑️ Contemporary Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙪𝙨. 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣.”

Oh my goodness, what a sweet and tender story. Lenni burrowed her way into my heart!

Overview:
•Set in a Hosptial 
•Themes of Death and Friendship
•Found Family
•Multiple Timelines
•Mix of Humor and Somberness 

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝟭𝟳-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝟴𝟯-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁, 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀.

This story is full of life and vibrancy, which is a bit ironic considering it takes place in the May Ward of the hospital - a place where patients are “life-limited”.

Lenni is such a gorgeous character. She carries herself with such vivacity, all while being frank about her fear of dying. It was beautifully vulnerable.

“𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙂𝙤𝙙’𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣, 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚?”

Then we have Margot, who has lived so many lives in her time. She experiences unspeakable grief and joy and hardship and love. Hearing her stories was a gift. 

And her friendship with Lenni? The journey with their art? I loved every moment of their interactions. 

“𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙, 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪?”
“𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.”
“𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮?”
𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙙.

Father Arthur and Lenni’s bond became one of my favorite parts of this story! The way Lenni questioned him about faith and the way he responded with honesty and compassion… I loved it.

Plus, it showed that unexpected friendships can help us grow and find ourselves in entirely new ways. 

“𝙎𝙤 𝙄’𝙢 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬?”
“𝘼𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙮𝙚𝙨.”
“𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢.”

I have to applaud the author at this beautifully crafted story! She intertwined moments of tenderness with scenes of levity, and it struck the perfect balance.

I just loved her writing style, including quotes like this:

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠?”
𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣. “𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.”


I believe that this book celebrates friendship and finding joy in unexpected places. It’s definitely not a happy story, but I thoroughly enjoyed every page. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this book to everyone who enjoys books that make them feeeeel and reflect. 

✨ Read via Libby ✨ 
Daisy Haites by Jessa Hastings

Go to review page

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

📖 Daisy Haites
📚 Book 2 of the Magnolia Parks series
✍🏻 Jessa Hastings
☑️ Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

“𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚.”

This series is WILD. I repeat, WILD.

Overview: 
•Toxic Relationships 
•Love Triangles
•Gang/Crime Family
•High Drama
•Multiple POVs

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘆’𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿.

I’m absolutely hooked on this series, and no one is more surprised than me. 

This story is told in a concurrent timeline with the first book (Magnolia Parks), but from three different POVs: Daisy, Julian, and Christian. 

Daisy has such a unique voice! I loved her, but I was also extremely frustrated with her at times. But she is only 20 years old and has excessive amounts of trauma, so I’ll allow it. 

“𝙉𝙤 𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚. 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨.”

And Christian!! What whiplash. He can be such a blockheaded idiot, but once he screwed his head on, he was a man obsessed.

“𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

Oh Julian… he is one complicated character. I was so rooting for him, but by the end, I wanted to shake him silly. 

“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙄’𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠.”

Julian and Daisy’s sibling bond is one of the best parts of this books. I won’t say anything else (to avoid spoilers), but what a rollercoaster.

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝, 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙.”

There was SO much drama in this book, and I totally ate it up. I loved the gang shenanigans, the bodyguard banter, and the pure shock factor of the last 20%. 

During Daisy’s POV, there are hundreds of footnotes. If I was reading the physical copy, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but having to click on that tiny star on my kindle every time to expand the footnote drove me crazy. 

With that said, give me the next book immediately!!!

✨ Read via Purchased Ebook ✨