Tag Archives: 3.5 stars

Mistletoe and Mr. Right — Sarah Morgenthaler — Moose Springs, Alaska #2

Author: Sarah Morgenthaler
Narrator: Elise Arsenault

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emojis (this one was also pretty closed-doors, if you ask me)
Content Warnings: Mentions car accidents and death of parents. Discusses sexual harassment. Contains some sexual content.

“Mistletoe and Mr. Right” follows Lana Montgomery, a socialite that comes from a working multimillionaire family, as she tries to win over the town of Moose Springs, Alaska. She’s been coming to this quaint, little town for ages, but now that she has some pull in her family’s company, she’s looking to change things for the better for Moose Springs—the only downfall is that Moose Springs doesn’t want change; it doesn’t even want tourists, really. So when some angry men attack Lana after she announces a new condo development, and Rick Harding, the owner of a local pool hall, steps in to her aid, he immediately catches her eye anew.

Elise Arsenault is an amazing audiobook narrator. I think I partially enjoyed this book as much as I did because of her narration.

I have mixed feelings about this book, because the Lana we see in “Mistletoe and Mr. Right” is definitely not the same Lana we met in “The Tourist Attraction”. And I loved this new Lana, but really disliked the inconsistency. She wasn’t as selfish or shallow this time around—she did not seem like the type of person that would leave their best friend alone, in a bar, in an Alaskan town her friend has never been to. You know, just saying.

I’ll leave a similar endorsement as I did for the first book in this series: If you’re a fan of outdoorsy activities, wildlife, and remote locations, then you’ll adore Moose Springs. And if you’re a sucker for mutual pining, then you’ll adore Lana’s and Rick’s love story.

This book kind if reminded me to a milder, PG-13 version of the Wild series. So, in other words, I loved it. I would highly recommend the Moose Springs, Alaska series.

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So This Is Christmas — Jenny Holiday — Christmas in Eldovia #3

Author: Jenny Holiday
Narrator: Cynthia Farrell

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Narration: 4 mikes
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis (it was all so awkward)
Content Warnings: Discusses homophobia, physical and emotional abuse, gambling addictions, chronic illness disabilities, and parental abandonment. Contains explicit sexual content.

“So This Is Christmas” follows Cara Delaney, a management consultant that is sent to Eldovia to fix the financial crises the country is currently facing due to their declining watch business, and Matteo Benz, the royal consultant of the King of Eldovia. Mr. Benz is set on making life as uncomfortable as possible for the visiting American, but little did he know that his stubbornness could lead to admiration, and perhaps even love.

The audiobook I listened to for this read was alright at best. I enjoyed the story more than the narration, and I didn’t even enjoy the story that much.

Apparently this is the last book in the series, which sucks because this definitely was not the conclusion I was looking for. It can’t really be called a royalty romance anymore, if you ask me—which would’ve been okay, had the two main characters had any true chemistry at all.

This book was more holiday-centric than “Duke, Actually”, which was nice, but I just could not get myself to like this pairing. I think Matteo and Cara were just chaste and in close proximity, and that’s what led to their hook ups. Also, their first kiss happened literally out of nowhere, it was plain out weird (and I know they felt weird about it too, but it still doesn’t justify it. Out in the wild that would be called assault, for real).

And finally, what kind of conclusion was that? This book felt like it didn’t have a real ending. I finished listening to this audiobook and was left wondering what the hell had just happened.

I think maybe just stick to the first two books in this series. “So This Is Christmas”, in my opinion, isn’t worth your time.

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ARC — The Wilderwomen — Ruth Emmie Lang

“The birds are singing… I’m here to stay.”

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, it’s clean
Content Warning: It revolves around parental abandonment, but also includes car accident, pregnancy, and injury details.

“The Wilderwomen” follows, well, the Wilder women—Nora, and her daughters, Zadie and Finn. Well, it mostly follow Zadie and Finn, as Nora has been missing for the last 5 years. But Zadie and Finn aren’t your normal 23- and 17-year-olds, respectively—they’re somewhat magical. Zadie can see the future (of sorts), while Finn can relive other people’s memories, something they call “echoes”. So when, after being missing for so long, Finn can sense an echo from their mom, she convinces Zadie to go on a roadtrip, as she’s sure Nora wants to be found.

I feel like I could’ve enjoyed this book more at another point in my life. For instance, a year ago, I loved reading some nonsensical magical realism (I’ll blame it on me rewatching Jane The Virgin), but right now it just didn’t resonate with me.

Don’t get me wrong, “The Wilderwomen” is exceptionally well-written, and will keep you hooked, I just felt like I wasn’t fulfilled after reading this book.

Zadie and Finn are very likable characters, but I couldn’t care less about Nora, so I was just annoyed half the time. I liked the Sixes, the people who have a sixth sense, that they met in their roadtrip. I loved loved loved the writing. I just didn’t love the story as a whole.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for an escape, a magical read that’ll make you question if you’re the sane one or if magic is really real. If you’ve enjoyed other magical realism reads like “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by T.J. Klune or “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig (which also has a character named Nora, lol), then you’ll love “The Wilderwomen”.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

ARC — To Get To The Other Side — Kelly Ohlert

“Chickira? Henrietta? Princess Lay-A. Hennifer Lopez! Clucky Charm? I’m going to call you Chick-Chick.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses sick animals, bullying, child abuse, and frustration and unhealthy parental relationships after practicing a professional sport. Has some sexual innuendos.

“To Get To The Other Side” follows Trixie, Bear, and Chick-Chick—two roommates and a chicken found abandoned in the streets of Chicago. Trixie found Chick-Chick in the middle of the street and, by trying to sneak her into her not-pet-friendly apartment, is kicked out by her landlord. That’s when she finds an ad about a so-called Bear, who’s looking for a roommate and doesn’t mind pets…ish. Obviously a chicken was a bit unexpected, but Trixie and Chick-Chick end up falling right into his routine… perhaps falling in too well. To the point he’s thinking she could be more than just a roommate.

I think the best way to describe this book is as weird? The writing isn’t horrible but the story is just odd. Love at first sight and then close proximity and kind of enemies to lovers for a hot second… and a chicken? Found in the middle of the street? I don’t know. I love fiction just as much as the next chick (no pun intended), but this really wasn’t it for me.

This is a sort of closed-doors-romance, where we know they bang but we don’t know anything about it, if that makes sense. So I wouldn’t call it a clean romance per se, but I also can’t give it much of a spicy rating as is.

I think I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as I expected. (I’ll blame it on judging a book by its cover). It’s supposed to be a romantic comedy, but I didn’t find any of it funny—more like I found it all very unrealistic. I read to escape my reality, but not in this whimsical, idealistic way. Life isn’t like this. People don’t talk like that.

Trixie is annoying, Bear (who the hell is called Bear?) is fictional at worse, and the name of the chicken is Chick Chick. Need I say more?

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a short, silly read. No substance, all fluff—and clean fluff at that.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Talk Bookish To Me — Kate Bromley

Author: Kate Bromley
Narrated By: Natalie Naudus

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars (and I’m being generous)
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, parent death, and hit and runs.

“Talk Bookish To Me” follows Kara Sullivan, a romance novelist that’s stuck in a writer’s block, as she finds the cure to that bad slump when she is reunited with her first love and college boyfriend, Ryan Thompson, through a friend’s wedding celebration. Little did she know that her proximity to Ryan and their past love could only lead to more heartbreak.

Lets start with the praise. I loved Natalie Naudus’ narration. I will definitely be looking out for audiobooks worked on by her. I also like books that talk about books, so having the main character be a writer was fun. The spicy bits weren’t the best but they were definitely creative, alright?

Now, on with the not so good. Take the cheating content warning very seriously, it isn’t just lightly mentioned, it is literally a shit show. I didn’t particularly like Kara, but can definitely confirm I hated Ryan more. Cheating in books is a big turn off for me, it is my one pet peeve. I hate it when cheating is consensual (aka both parts know they’re cheating), but I hate it even more when it isn’t (aka one of the parts doesn’t know the other part is cheating). So I can honestly say I was really enjoying the book pretty much until that plot line was uncovered. It took all I liked about the book and threw it out the window. Honestly, I feel that by giving it a 3.5-star review I’m being lenient on the cheating just because I loved the narration. Normally I would rate it much lower.

Anyways, personally I did not like this book because of its plot, but if you’re into cheating tropes, then this book might be for you.

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The Last Thing He Told Me — Laura Dave

“Maybe we are all fools, one way or another, when it comes to seeing the totality of the people who love us—the people we try to love.”

Genre: Mysteries and Thrillers
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, it’s clean.
Content Warnings: Discusses mobs, fraud, parent death, fake identities, disappearances, and hit and runs.

“The Last Thing He Told Me” follows Hannah Hall as she sets to find her missing husband, Owen Michaels, who left her a single note that wrote “Protect her”. That ‘her’ is Bailey Michaels, Hannah’s husband’s daughter, who perhaps isn’t the fondest of Hannah. Pretty quickly, they both realize Owen perhaps isn’t who he said he is.

I really enjoyed this read. I’m actually a bit sad I rated it this low, but I’ve got my reasons. Hannah and Bailey are great, they’re complex and clever and honestly, just like two people you could truthfully run into in real life. They weren’t two-dimensional, it wasn’t all black and white, I loved that. But—and it’s a bit but—I did not like the ending. At all. After seeing them fight to find Owen they just…didn’t do what I expected them to do. The whole thing felt really out of character.

Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this read if you’re looking for a mystery novel. It reminded me of “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley and “The Maid” by Nita Prose, but not because of their plot, because of the way they made me feel—like I knew a lot, only to be blindsided by the truth.

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“This is the thing about good and evil. They aren’t so far apart—and they often start from the same valiant place of wanting something to be different.”

ARC — Christmas at the Ranch — Anita Hughes

“You’re afraid of being afraid. (..) You’re braver than you think.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, it’s clean
Content Warnings: This is all about two emotionally cheating characters, I hated it all. Other than that, they also discuss abandonment and extreme poverty.

“Christmas at the Ranch” follows Samantha Morgan, a best-selling adventure/action author who’s faking to be as adventurous as her main character, as she is invited to attend her publisher’s monumental Christmas party. In the plane, she meets Drew Wentworth, the nicest guy amongst all other nice guys, only to find out that he is her publisher’s son, who is engaged to a gorgeous woman. But that gorgeous woman does not want the same things from life as Drew wants right now—so, is she the one for Drew? That’s for him to find out and for Samantha to stay out of, because it’s none of her business… right?

“Tomorrow she’d wake up and worry about the future. Right now, it felt like a Christmas miracle.”

A Christmas miracle??? Really? That you’re a homewrecker?? That you legit ripped apart an engaged couple? A Christmas miracle? Really?

Here’s the thing. This book was losing from the get-go. I hate the whole cheating or the falling-in-love-with-someone-while-in-a-relationship-with-someone-else trope. And this is exactly what this book was about. Yes, it’s set in a Winter wonderland, surround the holidays. But that doesn’t stop Samantha and Drew from being the douchiest of bouchebags. Technically there is no physical cheating, but the emotional cheating was there, alright?

In regards to the writing, this book is exceptional written and very entertaining. A bit slow-paced in the beginning, but then it picks up. The characters are interesting and lovable (if you ignore Samantha’s and Drew’s biggest flaw). Jackson Hole is a lovely town to set this book in. The bits of mystery woven into this story were great. The older characters and their advice were priceless.

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a December or Winter-y read and don’t mind the cheating trope—which I do. Anita Hughes seems like an amazing author and I won’t shy away from some other of her books. It’s just this one wasn’t it for me.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 27th, 2022

“Native Americans have many legends about love. My Ojibwe friend taught me the story of a young girl named Dandelion. Her hair is the color of spun gold and she’s so lovely, the South Wind and East Wind both fall in love with her. The South Wind is too shy to reveal his intentions, but the East Wind is very confident. He loves to hear himself talk, so when he courts her, he blows parts of her away. After a while, her golden hair is gone, and all that remains is her heart. Dandelion stops being a girl and becomes a flower instead. There’s nothing more important than love when it’s nurturing, but love can also be the reverse. It can sap your energy and leave you with nothing.” (…)
“I never heard anything like that.” (…)
“It wouldn’t sell many Valentine’s cards but it’s a good lesson. You have to choose the kind of love that works for you.”

A Pho Love Story — Loan Le

“There’s so much in your life that you can’t control.… So maybe you can use this chance to do something for yourself.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, it’s clean
Content Warnings: Discusses racial discrimination and xenophobia. Mentions war and death.

“A Pho Love Story” follows Linh Mai and Bao Nguyen, the children of two immigrant Vietnamese families who own rivaling pho restaurants. They’re on their last years of high school and are just trying to find themselves—Linh loves art and Bao loves writing, but those don’t sound like acceptable careers in their culture. Will they follow their dreams, and perhaps forget their family’s rivalry for a moment? Might they even become friends? Or more?

“A Pho Love Story” is a multicultural, sweet, high school romance story that lives up to all of its potential. Just reading the premise I knew I would be moved, and oh was my heart warmed. But here’s the thing: I knew exactly how it was going to pan out. Hence the low-ish rating.

Ignoring its predictability, this was an very entertaining read. Loan Le is an amazing writer and I can’t believe this is her debut novel. Well, she’s also an editor at Atria Books, so perhaps her love and devotion to books made her an amazing rookie.

I would recommend “A Pho Love Story” to readers who enjoy multicultural books and clean love stories. Also, if you’re just looking for a somewhat predictable, feel-good read, this book is for you.

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“But in anything you love, isn’t there always some bit of sadness, some essence of suffering? That, to me, is what makes art worth it.”

The Lost Apothecary — Sarah Penner

“Why did we suffer to keep secrets? Merely to protect ourselves, or to protect others?”

Genre: Historical Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, murder, poisons, miscarriages, suicide attempts, and insinuates about sexual assault.

“The Lost Apothecary” follows three different points of view: one in present day and two in 1791. Caroline Parcewell was an aspiring historian before she decided to follow a family life instead of a life in academia. On a now somewhat unwanted trip to London, she finds a small apothecary vial and is set on finding out where and when it came from. So in comes Nella, the owner of a hidden apothecary that at times delivers poisonous and deadly concoctions to and only to women intended to give them to men, and Eliza, a young costumer that was getting some poisoned eggs for someone else and who becomes Nella’s friend (?) following a few unexpected and unfortunate events. Will the mystery of the lost apothecary be reviewed in present day or will Nella’s secrets remain hidden.

I must admit I only grabbed this book because of the cover. I had been wanting to read it for a while just because it was so pretty but I am so glad that I actually got through it because the actual book was so much better than the cover. “The Lost Apothecary” was a fun and dynamic read, with different points of views and different timelines. Sarah Penner has done an exceptional job with this novel, AND YOU’RE TELLING ME IT’s HER DEBUT. That’s unbelievable.

I know I am singing the praise of this book while I actually only give it gave it a 3.5 stars, but the thing is that this book was wonderfully written, the characters were mostly well defined and likable, but in the end I felt like I was still missing something, and I hated that.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy V.E. Schwab books like “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” and to anyone who enjoys books told threw different timelines and points of view.

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ARC — Here for the Drama — Kate Bromley

“All love stories are complicated.”

Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Toxic work dynamics.

“Here for the Drama” follows Winnie, as she moved across the world from the United States to the United Kingdom—straight to the heart of London’s theater world. She is the right hard of a renowned, American playwright, and she is trying to hold the play from falling apart as the director and her boss butt heads, and as she falls for the one guy she was told not to fall for. To say there’s a lot going on in this book would be an understatement.

If you’re reading a book titled “Here for the Drama” I assume you’re, well, here for the drama. Over-the-top would be an accurate way of describing this book and all Winnie goes through. I loved the dynamic banter and I loved the forbidden romance feel to it (not the spicy part, that part was entirely awkward and worded weirdly), but I think it was a bit much at times. I wasn’t completely engaged and sometimes only skimmed through, just reading the dialogue, that’s why I’ve given this book 3.5 stars.

I would recommend “Here for the Drama” to anyone who’s ever watched Mexican Novela type shows (let that be actual novelas or perhaps tv series like “Jane The Virgin”). Basically, if you like unrealistic, slice-of-life drama and the New York City-London vibe, then this book is for you.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 21, 2022