Reviews: Bad Girl Reputation, Before I Do, & Mistakes Were Made
/10 Comments/by SuzanneAnother week, another assortment of books to share my thoughts on with you. I know we’re in the midst of spooky season but most of my ARCs for this month ended up being romances and oddly enough, Christmas books. I’m holding off on the Christmas books at the moment because my inner mood reader just isn’t quite ready for them, but I imagine I’ll start sharing those reviews either later this week or early next week. Anyway, on to today’s reviews!
Bad Girl Reputation Goodreads
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Bad Girl Reputation, the second book in Elle Kennedy’s Avalon Bay series, introduces us to Genevieve West and Evan Hartley, two long-time residents of the town. Genevieve, or Gen, is known for being a wild child, while Evan is the town party boy. Their reputation together as a couple also precedes them, as they’ve been into one another forever and their passion and chemistry are both off the charts. After a particularly embarrassing moment involving another woman’s husband, Gen decides it’s time to grow up and she abruptly leaves town and cuts off contact with Evan. One year later, when her mother dies and her dad asks her to come home and help settle her mom’s affairs, Gen comes face to face with Evan. The attraction is still there of course but can she possibly rekindle her relationship with Evan without spiraling right back into her bad girl habits?
I really enjoyed everything about this story. The growth of Gen throughout the book is just tremendous, and I felt so proud of her, especially since she had practically the whole town watching her and expecting the worst of her. I also loved her chemistry with Evan. They have not only an intense physical connection, but a strong emotional connection as well. All Evan wants is Gen and he’s willing to do anything to make her understand that. When he understands just how important it is to Gen to continue her journey of growth and maturity, he’s 100% on board with it and sets out to make similar changes in his own life. I just adored the idea of the bad boy and the bad girl both growing up together and was cheering them on every step of the way.
With its charming coastal smalltown setting, its fabulous cast of characters, and a wonderful second chance romance, Bad Girl Reputation is an entertaining read that is sure to please romance fans. 4 STARS
Before I Do Goodreads
Author: Sophie Cousens
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam, G P Putnam’s Sons
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Before I Do by Sophie Cousens is a moving romance that follows one woman’s journey of what happens when “the one who got away” unexpectedly turns up the night before she is set to marry another man. I loved the premise of the story and was immediately hooked as soon as I started reading because the story starts out with a bang and then takes us through the events that led up to the explosive opening scene.
Audrey and Fred meet in the most unexpected and adorable of ways, and after their initial meet cute, they end up spending a truly magical day together. They make plans to go on a real date, but then Fred doesn’t show. Audrey, convinced that she and Fred were destined to be together, is devastated. She moves on with her life though, meeting Josh, who is a sweetheart, and six years later, Audrey finds herself about to be married. A series of bad omens start to plague Audrey right before the wedding, including dead bats in the church and of course Fred suddenly appearing at the rehearsal dinner. These omens really start to create doubt in Audrey’s mind as to who she is meant to spend the rest of her life with.
Using a dual timeline approach, Before I Do takes us through Audrey’s past, starting with when she and Fred meet, moving on to when she and Josh connect, and then of course, to the present day where the wedding events are unfolding and the pressure is on Audrey to decide what to do. I really loved how Cousens used the dual timeline here since we got to know Audrey, Fred, and Josh really well and got to see how each of those relationships developed. I also loved that the way the characters are developed, both Fred and Josh come across as very likeable so it’s not easy to choose one to root for, especially once we learn why Fred was a no show for their date. It’s easy to see why Audrey is so muddled about what to do. She really does love Josh, but what if Fred really was her soulmate and this is destiny’s way of giving her a second chance?
Cousens also does a wonderful job exploring the troubled relationship between Audrey and her mom and the impact it has had on her own approach to other relationships. I loved the added depth this angle added to Audrey’s story since it shed so much light on her own motivations and thought processes when it came to relationships and made me that much more invested in her journey.
I don’t want to give away what Audrey chooses to do, so I’m going to stop now, but I highly recommend Before I Do to anyone who enjoys a multi-layered and unpredictable romance with a cast of well-developed, unforgettable characters that will tug at your heartstrings. 4 STARS
Mistakes Were Made Goodreads
Author: Meryl Wilsner
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed Meryl Wilsner’s debut romance Something to Talk About so I was eager to get my hands on a copy of her latest book, Mistakes Were Made. I was a little nervous that the plot, which centers on a college senior accidentally hooking up with her best friend’s mom, wouldn’t come across as believable, but I needn’t have worried. Wilsner does a phenomenal job of not only making it seem like a plausible romance, but it became one that I wholeheartedly found myself cheering on.
The story follows Cassie Klein, a college senior who goes to an off-campus bar in hopes of escaping her school’s Family Weekend activities since her family decided not to attend. Cassie isn’t looking to hook up with anyone, but when she sees a sexy older woman sitting at the bar, she can’t resist buying her a drink and see what, if anything, develops between them. What develops is a super steamy one-night stand that leaves both women satisfied, and Cassie ready to return to campus and face the rest of Family Weekend. Imagine her shock and horror then, when invited by her best friend Parker to come to breakfast and meet her mom, Cassie comes face to face with her one-night stand, who just happens to be Parker’s mother, Erin, who is of course equally horrified.
I really loved how the author developed this relationship and had her characters navigate the many obstacles that face them, the number one obstacle being not wanting to hurt Parker. Wilsner does a wonderful job portraying the awkwardness and the inner turmoil both Cassie and Erin experience because as much as they both try to hide it and deny it, they are clearly attracted to one another and have wonderful chemistry. I was right there with them alternating between “No, you absolutely cannot be together. Think about Parker!” to “But you’re so happy together. Maybe Parker would be okay with it?” As the title implies, mistakes were made and I really appreciated that aspect of it. It’s definitely a messy situation these women find themselves in, and I don’t think the relationship would have felt realistic if there weren’t mistakes made along the way.
If you’re in the mood for a sexy, steamy forbidden romance with a bit of family drama thrown into the mix, you’ll want to check out Mistakes Were Made. 4 STARS.
Reviews: WHEN IN ROME and WHERE WE END & BEGIN
/7 Comments/by Suzanne
Happy Friday everyone! I’m back today to share my thoughts on two wonderful romances I read recently. Those who enjoy rom-coms will definitely want to check out the first one, while those who prefer more of a tearjerker read will want to check out the second.
When in Rome Goodreads
Author: Sarah Adams
Publication Date: September 20, 2022
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been wanting to read something from Sarah Adams ever since her novel, The Cheat Sheet, generated so much hype on social media. I’m a big Audrey Hepburn fan too, so when I saw Hepburn and Roman Holiday mentioned in the synopsis for Adams’ new book, When in Rome, I couldn’t resist reading it.
Amelia Rose, or Rae Rose as she is known to her legions of fans, is a pop princess on the verge of burn out. Years of cultivating her onstage persona, obeying her manager’s every command, and following a rigorous tour schedule have taken their toll and Amelia desperately needs to get away from her life for a while. Inspired by Roman Holiday, her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Amelia takes off in the middle of the night for a quick vacation before her next tour starts. Unlike Roman Holiday, however, Italy is not the destination. Amelia needs somewhere closer and more discrete so she heads to a different Rome…Rome, Kentucky. Luck is not on her side though as her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere just on the outskirts of Rome. Her rescuer appears in the unlikely form of a grumpy but sexy baker named Noah Wilder. Amelia has no idea how life changing this little trip to Rome is going to be.
This was such a fun read! I adored both Amelia and Noah and especially loved watching Amelia break through Noah’s gruff exterior to see what a sweet, big-hearted guy he really is under all that grumpiness. There are some laugh out loud moments, lots of flirty ones too, and so much witty banter that had me chuckling through chapter after chapter. Amelia and Noah are clearly attracted to one another, but neither is looking for a relationship. Then there’s the added twist that Amelia is only in town for a couple of weeks anyway and then she’s off on tour again for months. Neither wants to get into a relationship that is destined not to last, but it gets harder and harder to fight their attraction to one another. I loved how that tension and conflict contrasted with all the fun, flirty moments and added that extra layer of very realistic depth to the story.
All of the secondary characters in the book were fabulous too. Rome is a small quirky town filled with equally quirky characters. It was clear they all loved Noah and considered him family and equally clear that they were rooting for Noah and Amelia to get together just as much as I was. Noah also has sisters who live in town and they were also fabulous. I loved how Noah and his sisters have a standing “date” every Saturday night where they all get together, play games, and tease each other mercilessly. Their close-knit family just gave me warm fuzzies.
Overall, When in Rome was just an all around delightful read for me. If you’re in the mood for a fun and heart-warming small-town romance filled with lovable quirky characters, this is the book for you! 4 STARS.
Where We End & Begin Goodreads
Author: Jane Igharo
Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Publisher: Berkley Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I loved Jane Igharo’s first two books so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest one, Where We End & Begin and was especially excited to see it was a second chance romance since that’s one of my favorite tropes.
Set in Nigeria, the story follows Dunni and Obinna, high school sweethearts who are deeply in love but come from very different backgrounds. Dunni’s parents don’t think Obinna is good enough for their daughter and so, against Dunni’s wishes, they send her away to university in America and they tell Obinna to stay away from their daughter. Twelve years later, Dunni returns to Nigeria for a friend’s wedding and it is there that she and Obinna are finally reunited. Can they pick up where they left off or has too much happened since then for a second chance to even be possible?
The story is presented through two timelines, one in the past that shows us when Dunni and Obinna first met in school and fell in love, and then one in the present that shows them getting to know each other all over again as adults. I loved the contrast of the sweet, youthful scenes of a first love in bloom versus the intense and sensual moments of two former lovers rediscovering one another. Ultimately, both timelines converge in an emotional roller coaster as we learn not only the exact details from the past surrounding the cruel and heartless way Dunni and Obinna were separated, but devastating secrets are revealed that threaten to once again tear Dunni and Obinna apart. My heart just broke for these two over and over again.
Dunni and Obinna are very easy to root for. They are both very likeable as individuals, but they definitely shine as a couple. From the early days of their relationship to the chemistry they still clearly have as adults, there’s no doubt that they are meant to be together if they can overcome the obstacles that threaten them.
I also very much enjoy this author’s writing style. She fleshes out her characters and makes them feel so real, like I truly know them and their history, and I love the way she depicts the heart-wrenching scenes between Dunni and Obinna in such a way that they are intensely moving and realistic, but never melodramatic.
Where We End & Begin is an angsty, heartfelt romance that is perfect for fans of star-crossed lovers and second chance romances. 4 STARS
Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Children on the Hill & My Perfect Daughter
/10 Comments/by Sharon
Happy Thriller Thursday! It’s me Sharon, here to share a couple of great reads to usher in spooky season. This week I am happy to share my thoughts on The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon and My Perfect Daughter by Sarah A. Denzil. I have had both of these books on my shelf for months but kept putting them off. Why? I have no idea. LOL I am glad I finally decided to read them though because they were both awesome.
The Children on the Hill Goodreads
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
I am kicking myself for leaving Jennifer McMahon’s newest book The Children on the Hill on my to read list for so long. This book was so good that I devoured it in a couple of days.
The story is told in alternating timelines. The first timeline is in 1978 and is told from the POV of thirteen-year-old Vi. Vi and her brother Eric live with their grandmother, a brilliant psychiatrist who works at the Hillside Inn, a private psychiatric hospital in a small town in Vermont. One day Gran brings home thirteen-year-old Iris to stay with them. Iris is skittish, doesn’t talk and is feral, and Gran has given Vi the job of taking care of Iris. Vi and Eric take an instant liking to Iris and with their help she is soon talking, and they let her into the Monster Club. Vi and Eric are monster hunters, because as Vi says “Monsters are everywhere.” They wrote a book that they call “The Book of Monsters” and list all the monsters they know and how to kill them. Vi has also made it her mission to find out where Iris came from, but she is not going to like the information she finds. Her whole world and the hospital are about to come crashing down.
The second timeline is in 2019 and this timeline is told from the POV of Lizzy Shelly. Lizzy is a monster hunter and has a podcast called Monsters Among Us. Lizzy travels all over the country investigating monster sightings. When she learns that a young girl has gone missing in a small town in Vermont after she came in contact with the town’s monster “Rattling Jane,” Lizzy heads to Vermont because she knows who this monster is and she is determined to stop her.
I enjoyed both timelines equally, which is a rarity for me since I normally have one that is my favorite. I loved getting to know Vi, Eric and Iris and just enjoyed watching them as they hunted monsters and also as they investigated who Iris was and where she came from. I also loved how the nostalgia from 1978 brought back memories of my childhood. I was also equally invested in Lizzy’s timeline and her determination to stop “Rattling Jane”. Lizzy had a bit of mystery about her as well, and I kept going back and forth on who I thought she was.
Aside from the two timelines, at the end of each chapter we also get excerpts from “The Book of Monsters” and “The Helping Hand of God: The True Story of the Hillside Inn” which is a book that was written in 1980 about all that happened at the Hillside Inn. Having the book unfold with the two timelines and the excerpts just added to the mystery and suspense.
I loved everything about this book. It was not super scary but had that creepy atmosphere that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. There were twists at the end of the book that literally had me saying “Holy Crap!” If you are looking for a good read for spooky season, I highly recommend The Children on the Hill. I don’t think you will be disappointed. 4 ½ stars
My Perfect Daughter Goodreads
Author: Sarah A. Denzil
Publication Date: January 14, 2022
Publisher: Sarah Dalton
I have read a few books by Sarah A. Denzil and while I liked them, they didn’t have that WOW! factor, so I kept putting off reading her new book My Perfect Daughter. Well, let me tell you, Sarah A. Denzil outdid herself on this book, and I am sorry that I did not read it sooner.
Zoe was out for a jog one day when she noticed five year-old Maddie alone on the side of a country road. Afraid for the child’s safety, Zoe brings Maddie back to her father unaware that she is about to step into her worst nightmare. Maddie was not on that road by chance, she was actually waiting for Zoe to come by so that she could lure her to her serial killer father. During her captivity Zoe bonded with Maddie and with Maddie’s help they were both able to escape. Zoe ended up adopting Maddie. Now eleven years later, Zoe is married and has another child. They are one big happy family. Or are they? Maddie still has issues from living with her serial killer father and seeing all he had done. She has been diagnosed with callous unemotional traits. Zoe has worked hard to ensure that Maddie knows she is loved and supported. Zoe has never really been afraid of Maddie, until a school bully dies and another girl is missing. Though she does not want to think Maddie could be responsible, a part of Zoe cannot help but wonder, is Maddie more like her father than she wants to admit?
This book is told in alternating timelines. The first timeline centers around when Zoe was being held captive and when she and Maddie escaped. This timeline does contain torture and abuse, though Denzil does not get very vivid in the details. When I was reading these parts, they felt like I was watching a horror movie or an episode of Criminal Minds. I loved Maddie in this timeline, she was this small child that even though she helped lure Zoe in, she wanted to help save her as well. They formed a special bond and I was so glad that Zoe didn’t just dump her once she was free.
The second timeline is present day, Maddie is now sixteen years old and I really felt for her in this timeline. She went through a lot when she was a child and it left emotional scars that will never go away. Due to these emotional scars she was a very unreliable character and I loved that. During this timeline we also have the mystery of what happened to the bully and the missing girl and who was responsible. Aside from Maddie being an unreliable character, there were also other characters in this timeline that were untrustworthy as well. I was all over the place on who I thought was telling the truth and who was lying.
My Perfect Daughter was a dark read, full of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. Sarah A. Denzil does a great job of increasing the tension and suspense throughout the book. 4 stars