Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE KEY TO MY HEART by Lia Louis
/13 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is THE KEY TO MY HEART by Lia Louis. I really enjoyed Dear Emmie Blue and Eight Perfect Hours, so I’m eager to read more from Lia Louis. Everything about the synopsis of this new book speaks to me too.
THE KEY TO MY HEART by Lia Louis
Publication Date: December 6, 2022 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books
From Goodreads:
A heartwarming novel about hope after loss as a young widow receives mysterious messages of love from the “must-buy author” (Jodi Picoult) of Eight Perfect Hours.
Sparkly and charming Natalie Fincher has it all—a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opportunity to tour with the musical she’s spent years writing. But when her husband suddenly dies, all her hopes and dreams instantly disappear.
Two and a half years later, Natalie is still lost. She works, sleeps (well, as much as the sexually frustrated village foxes will allow), and sees friends just often enough to allay their worries, but her life is empty. And she can only bring herself to play music at a London train station’s public piano where she can be anonymous. She’s lost motivation, faith in love, in happiness…in everything.
But when someone begins to mysteriously leave the sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano, Natalie begins to feel a sense of hope and excitement for the first time. As she investigates just who could be doing this, Natalie finds herself on an unexpected journey toward newfound love for herself, for life, and maybe, for a special someone.
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Love That Were Written Over Ten Years Ago
/38 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Books I Love That Were Written Over Ten Years Ago. I think I focused mainly on classics the last time we did a similar topic so I decided to go a different and somewhat convoluted route this time. I went back eleven years to 2011, and counted backwards from there to 2002, figuring out what my favorite book published in each of those years was. It was an interesting journey for me to see how long I’ve had eclectic reading tastes and jumped from genre to genre.
Books I Love That Were Written Over Ten Years Ago
1. THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morganstern (2011)
2. ROOM by Emma Donoghue (2010)
3. THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson (2009)
4. THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins (2008)
5. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini (2007)
6. THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak (2006)
7. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE by JKR (2005)
8. MY SISTER’S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult (2004)
9. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA by Lauren Weisberger (2003)
10. THE NANNY DIARIES by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (2002)
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Question: Have you read any of these?
Romance Reviews: THE HOOKUP PLAN and LUCK & LAST RESORTS
/10 Comments/by Suzanne
Happy Friday! Well, we’ve made it through another week. Between work being busy and my son starting back to school (10th grade!) this week, I am so ready for the weekend. Today I’m back with a couple of romance reviews that I’m happy to share my thoughts on. This was my first time reading Farrah Rochon so I’ll definitely be looking to check out her backlist, and I was already a big fan of Sarah Grunder Ruiz after her wonderful debut so it was a real treat to get another new book from her.
The Hookup Plan Goodreads
Author: Farrah Rochon
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
Publisher: Forever
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon was such a fun and sexy read. It follows London Kelley, a very successful pediatric surgeon who has been feeling stressed out lately and just needs to bring some balance and relaxation to her life. According to her best friends, what she really needs is a casual hookup – a night of fun but with no strings attached. No one is more shocked than London when the opportunity presents itself at her high school reunion in the form of Drew Sullivan, London’s high school arch nemesis and co-valedictorian.
I’m a big fan of the rivals-to-lovers trope so I was thoroughly entertained by the sparks that flew between London and Drew. It was hilarious learning about how competitive they were in high school and especially about how much Drew got under London’s skin. It’s clear that whatever their relationship was back then, they are definitely attracted to each other present day and that Drew might be exactly the stress relief London has been looking for.
It’s not smooth sailing for the two of them, however. In fact, it’s pretty darn rocky because it turns out that Drew isn’t just in town for the reunion. He works for a company that is evaluating the state of the hospital London works at to determine its future, particularly if it should be sold. London’s hospital is one that currently caters to lower income families, and she fears that what Drew and his company are doing could make it harder for those families to receive the care they need. Is London’s arch nemesis from high school still her arch nemesis or can she believe him when he says he’s a good guy? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
The Hookup Plan has a little something for everyone. There’s plenty of steamy scenes between London and Drew, but then there are also some fabulous female friendships as well as some heartwarming scenes between London and her young patients. It was just an all around fun and satisfying read and I highly recommend to fans of the rivals-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers tropes. 4 STARS.
Luck and Last Resorts (Love, Lists & Fancy Ships, #2) Goodreads
Author: Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Publication Date: August 9, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Love, Lists & Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz was one of my favorite romance reads from last year. Set aboard a luxury yacht, that book was sweet, witty, and just such a wonderful read. When I read it, I fell head over heels for the “found family” vibe of the yacht’s hilarious crew, particularly Nina and Ollie, two veteran crew members who bicker like an old married couple and just stole every scene they were in. Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I realized that there was going to be a sequel, Luck & Last Resorts, and that it features Nina and Ollie.
The relationship between Nina and Ollie had a big “are they or aren’t they a couple?” vibe in the first book so I was thrilled that the author really explored it in depth in Luck & Last Resorts. I was so thrilled when the novel opens with a grand gesture from Ollie. He declares his love for Nina and wants her to commit to being with him. He’s completely devoted to her, miserable when he isn’t around her, and has decided it’s time to wear his heart on his sleeve. Unfortunately, Nina isn’t so convinced. Yes, of course, she loves Ollie, but she’s a commitment-phobe at heart, has been hurt in the past, and only knows how to rely on herself. Letting someone, even Ollie, all the way in is just too hard for her to even think about.
Nina’s scenes with Ollie still have all the sexiness and fun, and of course the hilarious banter from the first book. However, there’s an angsty undertone throughout because Ollie has decided that if Nina isn’t ready to commit to him after all these years, he can’t do it anymore and he’s moving back to Ireland. I wanted to shake Nina but understood that she clearly needed to work through some things and figure out what and who she wanted in her life. Nina’s journey really drives a lot of the story and I was completely invested in it.
I also loved that the author used a dual timeline in this story. One timeline follows Nina and Ollie in the present as they work through their feelings for one another, while the other timeline takes us back to when they first met years ago and delivers a huge and unexpected plot twist that just made me love them even more.
I know I’m just rambling now, but I just love this series and all the characters so much. If you’re in the mood for a beautifully written romance novel that is both fun and flirty, but also emotional and angsty, and that will leave you with a full heart and a smile on your face, I highly recommend both books in this series. 4.5 STARS