Tag Archives: Fiction

ARC — 10 Things That Never Happened — Alexis Hall — Material World #1

Genre: General Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Revolves around a fake amnesia. Describes a head injury and discusses grief, death of parents, and toxic relationships. Contains some sexual content.

Obviously, faking amnesia is never good, yet it made this book truly hilarious. “10 Things That Never Happened” follows Samwise (Sam) Becker, the manager of a bed-and-bath retailer branch, and Jonathan Forest, the owner of said bed-and-bath retailer stores. Sam’s branch is underperforming and that’s got to change—until, well, Sam has a tiny, little accident, bumps his head, and forgets any of their troubles existed? I mean, he didn’t, but he’ll say he did.

This audiobook had me giggling, alright? First off, the narrator, Will Watt, was absolutely amazing. His voice really held my attention and I couldn’t help but binge this audio. All the lying made me anxious, not gonna lie (no pun intended), but watching Sam and Jonathan get to know and accept each other was truly heartwarming.

This book is perfect if you’re looking for a queer romance book for the Holidays! Get it as a stocking stuffer or a full-blown gift (to others or to yourself), you won’t regret it.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

ARC — The Search for Us — Susan Azim Boyer

“Thank you.” (…)
“What did I do?” (…)
“You’re the one who jumped in my truck and said, ‘Drive.’” (…)
“You’re the one who drove.” (…)
“We make a great team,”

Genre: Young Adult, General Fiction
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Touches on subjects like parental abandonment and alcoholism leading to DUIs and casualties.

This is a story of what means to be a family—is it blood or is it something more abstract? “The Search for Us” follows Samira Murphy and Henry Owen, two half siblings that knew nothing about each other’s existence. They both, separately, take DNA tests in an attempt to find their father, but end up finding each other instead.

Told through two points of view, this book was both sweet and infuriating. I even thought about DNFing at one point because I was so mad at Samira. So so mad. She is the picture perfect representation of codependence—she is willing to put her future in jeopardy in order to save others. That’s how moving Susan Azim Boyer’s writing was, really. I wanted to drop everything because I was so infuriated.

If you’re looking for a general fiction YA novel that touches deeply on heavy subjects like adoption, parental abandonment, and alcoholism, written by someone who not only did their research but actually know people in similar situations (and consulted them), then “The Search for Us” is exactly what you need.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 24, 2023

ARC — Woke Up Like This — Amy Lea

“Mom once described high school as a “trip”—a passage of time that feels tediously slow, but also lightning fast. After chasing perfect grades, (…) the next school event, it’s hard to believe all those mini goalposts have culminated in four whole years.”

Genre: General Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 5+ stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Mentions death of a young sibling and death of a parent. Contains some romantic content (kissing).

I had never smashed the 5-star button for a book so fast. “Woke Up Like This” follows Charlotte (Char) Wu and J. T. Renner, two high school frenemies, as, after a petty accident, they’re both catapulted to an alternate reality—a reality 13 years away, where they’re 30 years old and a week away from getting married. They’ll do anything to go back to 17, but what if they can’t? And most of all, if they do, will (reverse?) hindsight affect their future? Or are these two polar opposites really meant to be.

This book was really “13 Going on 30” core, and I was here for it. And perhaps “Woke Up Like This” wouldn’t be as relatable if you’re in your late teens, fresh off of high school, but gosh did I love this read. It really did make me reminisce my school days and how I, too, wanted nothing but to grow up—and now want nothing but to go back to the days when my biggest worries were what homework was due or if I was going to be able to nap or not.

I fell in love with Renner and Char and their whole dynamic, but I was specifically drawn to Char and her need to micromanage the present and the future—mostly because I, too, was this way until recently, until I finally understood that I wasn’t living nor enjoying the present, all because I was looking out for my future. Spoiler alert, it’s not worth it in the long run, the present will always be just a little bit sweeter.

“Woke Up Like This” really did take me through a rollercoaster of emotions. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a sweet, clean romance with some cute high school rivals to lovers vibe.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Mindy’s Book Studio in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 1, 2023

“(…) Real life doesn’t feel real without you.”

ARC — Do You Remember Being Born? — Sean Michaels

“A perfect poem, (…) a perfect poem can change the world.”

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A

“Do You Remember Being Born?” follows Marian Ffarmer, a 75 year old poet, as she is invited to collaborate with a new AI called Charlotte to write a new long poem. What starts as a simple premise turns out to be a deep insight on what it means to be human and up to what point can AI emulate us.

What made this book even more remarkable was finding out in the end that the actual book was written with the help of AI in real life, but I can’t say I am completely surprised—Charlotte’s parts were deeply unsettling at times. As this book is about a poet, the prose and body of this book is pretty poetic in and of itself, not necessarily only during the actual poem-writing, making it a very peaceful and contemplative read.

I empathized with this AI, Charlotte, more than I though I would. Books about AI tend to freak me out, but Charlotte didn’t. It just made me sad to think of Charlotte “living” forever and Marian never coming back to chat with it.

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for an introspective science fiction book that feels so close to non-fiction it’s uncanny. AI are now at the touch of our keyboards, and this scenario is more than possible–it actually happened through and thanks to this book.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 5, 2023

Happiness for Beginners — Katherine Center

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Touches on sibling death and degenerative diseases. Contains some romantic content.

“Happiness for Beginners” follows Helen Carpenter, a 32-year-old recent divorcee, as she embarks on a long and dangerous hiking trip to find herself again. What she did not plan for was that her brother’s best friend, Jake, would be coming along for the trip.

I think Katherine Center’s books are some of the few, closed-door, clean romances I truly enjoy and look forward to. I re-read this title looking forward to watching the movie based on it, which recently premiered in streaming services, and I must say I even liked it more this second time around.

Helen and her complicated relationship with her ex and her past, Jake and his secrets, and the secret pining? It’s to-die-for. In the end, you can totally understand why both of them were being stubborn about being together. I cannot recommend this book enough if you’re looking for clean romance in the great outdoors.

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ARC — Sideline Confidential — Brooke Bentley

“There sure are a lot of egos around here.” (…)
“The biggest ones aren’t even on the field.”

Genre: Sports Fiction, General Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Touches on subjects like workplace inequality, double standards, and misogyny. Describes workplace harassment and discrimination.

“Sideline Confidential” follows Blake Kirk, a recent journalism masters graduate, as she starts on her dream job: being a reporter for her hometown professional football team. She expected some resistance from this male-dominated field, but not as much as she ultimately received—as a whole set of rules have been made just for her, with her superiors always second guessing her reliability and professionalism. Because why would a woman want to work on the sports field other than to get with a football player, right?

This was such an eyeopening read—but as a huge football fan, I can’t say I’m completely surprised. I, too, work in a male-dominated field (yay for all my STEM girlies, we’ve got this) but what I’ve experienced is nothing to the extent to what Blake had to face working for her hometown’s football team. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t allowed around the players in private, it was how fraternizing was encouraged for male employees but condemned for female employees. It was how the author of this book was a female sports reporter as well, and how the things depicted in this book, although fiction, hold a thread of truth.

PSA: You don’t need to know much about football to enjoy this book. What you do need to know is that it touches on hard topics, focused on workplace inequality and discrimination based on gender. If you’re looking for quick read that tackles heavy subjects for women, then “Sideline Confidential” is exactly what you’re looking for.

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ARC provided by PR by the Book and Green Leaf Book Group in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

ARC — Unorthodox Love — Heidi Shertok

Genre: Fiction, Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Deals heavily with infertility and parental sickness. Mentions cancer.

“Unorthodox Love” follows Penina, an Orthodox Jewish 29-year-old that at this point has lost all hopes on getting married—she’s infertile and no proper Orthodox Jew will be okay with not having children of their own. But then in comes an indecent proposal—she is to marry a wealthy (secretly gay) Orthodox Jew in exchange for solving all her family’s monetary problems. It’s a perfect arrangement… so why can’t she stop thinking about Sam, the perfectly secular, objectively attractive, son of her boss, who’ll now be her interim boss as his father is receiving cancer treatment. It makes no sense, he is all she can’t have, so why even give it a second thought, right? Well, wrong.

I loved Heidi Shertok’s writing, it was both engaging and entertaining. I am usually not the biggest fan of clean romance but I must say “Unorthodox Love” left me completely content with this love story. It is truly astonishing this is a debut novel, I honestly can’t wait and see where Heidi’ll take us next.

I don’t think I’d ever heard Caitlin Thorburn as an audiobook narrator but oh, will I be keeping an eye out for her as well. Her voice was absolutely perfect for this novel, she truly found a way to portray Penina in all her anxiously-correct glory, with all her doubts and her inner battles.

I hate when a main character or heroine in a romance novel has to leave aside her beliefs (let that be religious or otherwise) to find a happily ever after. I am so so happy this was not the case for Penina.

Don’t hesitate to grab “Unorthodox Love” if you’re looking for a clean workplace romance where opposites attract and religion is a prominent subject (and where an adorably awkward meet-cute was in play).

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

Publication Date: July 11, 2023

ARC — Someone Else’s Bucket List — Amy T. Matthews

“She assumed it was what all old women did. Had sisters who plonked themselves at your kitchen table and annoyed you, from the cradle to the grave. It had never occurred to her that cancer might get in the way.”

Genre: General Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses grief, cancer, and death at a young age to a very impactful detail.

“Someone Else’s Bucket List” follows Bree and Jodie Boyd, two sisters who may have been complete opposites but who ultimately loved each other for who they were. Bree was a travel influencer, who was completing a bucket list before she was diagnosed with cancer and sadly succumbed to it. Now, with 1 million followers waiting on Bree and surmounting unpayable medical debt, Jodie receives the task to finish of Bree’s bucket list and if she does, said medical debt will be payed off. It’s a no-brainer, right? Bree has to finish this bucket list, if only to feel closer to her sister—even if one of the remaining items is falling in love, and how the hell is she supposed to do that?

I felt so much while reading this book—I cried, I laughed, I was lowkey very anxious as I identified deeply with Jodie. Overall, this book was a rollercoaster and I enjoyed almost every part of it. I’ve been mostly reading romance this year, so it was honestly impressive how this book caught my attention even without the upfront romance factor. The characters were lovable and the read truly entertaining, it read like it would be a really awesome movie.

Are you looking for a women’s fiction read focused on sisterly love, life after loss, and jumping out of your comfort zone? Then “Someone Else’s Bucket List” is perfect for you.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 23, 2023

ARC — French Holiday — Sarah Ready

Author: Sarah Ready
Narrator: Kelsey Navarro

Genre: Romance, Fiction
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Mentions parental death and disappearance. Discusses sexual assault, terminal illnesses, and abandonment. Contains some sexual content.

“French Holiday” follows Merry DeLuca, as she moves to France in an attempt to escape the fact that Merry’s little sister just married Merry’s best friend and unrequited love for years. Little did she know that her stay at her aunt’s old castle came in a package deal—Merry was being forced to coexist with Noah Wright, the best man at her sister’s and best friend’s wedding, and her lowkey archnemesis. Well, an archnemesis she thinks she hooked up with during said wedding? But oh well, that’s a story for another time. Together Merry and Noah will not only make the castle livable again, but they will try to uncover the truth about the castle’s history and its previous owners.

Let’s touch on the narration first—at first I thought I had never heard a book narrated by Kelsey Navarro, and oh have I been missing out, but it turns out I was wrong. Kelsey Navarro has actually narrated some of my favorite books, like All The Feels by Olivia Dade, it was just her voice variations are so spot-on that I didn’t even recognize her. Without her voice and inflections, I don’t think this book would’ve been half as fun as it was.

Now moving on to the actual story. If you’ve been following my reviews, it is no secret Sarah Ready is one of my new favorite authors. Her Josh and Gemma series have most definitely defined my year. So perhaps take my opinion on “French Holiday” with a grain of salt.

That being said, I absolutely loved this story and audiobook. Is it objectively unrealistic? Um, yes? But isn’t that what we’re looking for in fiction sometimes? “French Holiday” was a lovely enemies to lovers romance that carried along a fun mystery on the side. Set in Franch (duh), this is the perfect summer read if you’re looking to escape reality for a bit. I would highly recommend this audiobook.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: April 26, 2023

ARC — Sea Change — Gina Chung

“(…) Then the image of Eriko snapping at her trainers and slamming into the other dolphins, all while continuing to circle her tank in tight, anxious spirals, comes to mind. I realize that the main difference between Eriko’s situation and mine is that she never had a choice in her entrapment, but I do. I don’t have to be stuck anymore.”

Genre: General Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Describes the disappearance or death of a parent, dysfunctional families, and racism. Discusses sexual content, but isn’t explicit.

“Sea Change” follows Aurora (Ro), a zookeeper at a mall aquarium, as she tries to find new meaning in life after a very special animal is set to be sold to a private investor. The aquarium Ro works at is aiming to financial ruin, so when some rich family asks to buy their giant Pacific octopus for a great sum of money, the aquarium declare said octopus sold. But this isn’t just any octopus—this is Dolores. Dolores was caught by Ro’s father in one of his expeditions before his research boat is lost at sea and him and his crew are presumed dead. Dolores is practically all Ro has left from her father, how can the aquarium sell her just like that? -queue tears-

I am going to be honest upfront: I’m completely biased when it comes to reviewing this book. I am a marine zoologist, how on Earth would I not love this? But now, hear me out, regular fiction usually bores (I need me some romance and spice, don’t judge me) so my hopes weren’t too high but oh wow, did I binged “Sea Change” in a span of 24 hours.

The concept of a vortex that’s so polluted and inhabitable that organisms started to adapt to it? Terrifying but not so far from what could actually happen. In the end, nature will always find a way, with or without us. Gina Chung’s debut novel was an ode to marine life but also a mystery exploring difficult family dynamics and a very unique character—Ro.

If you like general fiction reads and marine animals, and you’re looking for a book that’s a bit futuristic but in a possibly-realistic way, then don’t hesitate to grab “Sea Change.”

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

Publication Date: March 28, 2023