Reviews: JUST ANOTHER LOVE SONG & LONG STORY SHORT
/25 Comments/by Suzanne
Hey everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend. I took some vacation days to give myself a four-day weekend so I definitely can’t complain, well, aside from not wanting to sign in for work today, haha. Anyway, I’m back today with two new reviews for you, one is from a favorite author of mine, Kerry Winfrey, while the other is a debut from Serena Kaylor.
Just Another Love Song Goodreads
Author: Kerry Winfrey
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’m a huge fan of Kerry Winfrey’s books anyway, but when I saw that her latest novel, Just Another Love Song, is a second chance romance set in a small town, I couldn’t get my hands on a copy fast enough. I’m happy to report that this romance was everything I hoped it would be and more.
Fifteen years ago, Sandy Macintosh and Hank Tillman were high school sweethearts. They were in love and had big dreams – Sandy was a gifted artist, and Hank a talented musician, and they wanted to leave their small town in Ohio, go off to college together, and then start building their future. When Sandy’s scholarship falls through, her dreams of college and leaving home are shattered. Hank goes off to college anyway, and even though they promise they’ll stay together no matter what, after a while Sandy feels like she’s holding Hank back from pursuing a career in music, so she breaks up with him. When the story opens, they have just run into each other for the first time since that break up.
I can’t even express how much I loved Sandy and Hank. I was especially enamored with Sandy, who in spite of having her dreams crushed so long ago, has managed to make a pretty good life for herself. She’s now a successful businesswoman with a thriving greenhouse business and she is very active in the community. She definitely made the best of a bad situation, and I admired her resilience. I also adored Hank. He’s of course sexy as heck, but he also clearly has a good heart and when he returns to his hometown, he immediately pitches in and helps anyone in need, even though he’s now a successful musician. There’s no egotism there at all. When Sandy and Hank reunite for the first time, it’s of course super awkward, but you can tell the old attraction is still there. My absolute favorite part of Just Another Love Song are the flashbacks Winfrey gives us to when Sandy and Hank first fell in love. Those scenes were just so adorable and magical, and they had me all the more invested in them taking another chance on one another and revisiting what they had as teens in love.
The small town setting was also a big hit for me. I loved everything about this community and its fun and quirky characters. It kind of reminded me a bit of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls and I enjoyed all of the humorous moments the various townspeople provided and they also provided a nice balance to some of the more emotional scenes between Sandy and Hank.
With its beautiful second chance romance and its charming small town setting, Just Another Love Song is sure to please anyone who is looking for a heartwarming, engaging read. 4.5 STARS
Long Story Short Goodreads
Author: Serena Kaylor
Publication Date: July 26, 2022
Publisher: Wednesday Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Long Story Short, a new YA romcom by Serena Kaylor, was such a fun read for me! It follows Beatrice Quinn, a 16 year old, academically gifted homeschooled student, as she tries to prove to her parents that she is both socially and emotionally ready to head thousands of miles from home to attend Oxford University where she has been accepted.
Beatrice’s parents know their daughter is brilliant and will succeed academically at Oxford, but they also just want to know that if she goes to Oxford, that she’ll be happy, make friends, and have the full college experience. They know Beatrice better than anyone else, and what they know is that while Beatrice may be a genius when it comes to numbers and statistics, but people, specifically how to make friends, are a mystery to her. To put their own minds at ease, they decide to challenge Beatrice – if she can go away to a theater camp on the other side of the country and complete a list of tasks they consider to be “typical” teenage social activities, then they’ll let her go to Oxford.
I loved Beatrice from the moment we meet her and I have to admit that I was kind of angry on her behalf that she has to jump through these hoops to prove herself, but as a parent myself, I could understand why her parents were so worried about her going that far away. There were some characteristics of Beatrice’s personality that made me think she might possibly be on the autism spectrum, but that was never explicitly stated so I’m not sure. At minimum, she is most definitely an introvert and as a fellow introvert, I very much related to her social struggles and was really hoping for the best for her.
I don’t want to say much about the camp itself, so I’m just going to say that Beatrice’s journey is everything I wanted it to be for her and so much more. She basically gets adopted by Mia and Nolan, two other teens at the camp, and they become just as invested as she is in completing her parents’ checklist and giving her the full typical teenager experience. Beatrice learns about the bonds of friendship, how to read social cues, how to apologize if she accidentally offends or hurts someone, and she even learns a little about love.
Long Story Short is a wonderful coming of age story set against the backdrop of a Shakespearean theater camp. If you’re in the mood for a story about friendship, love, and learning to live your life to the fullest, I highly recommend it. 4 STARS
Reviews: THE LITTLEST LIBRARY and BET ON IT
/20 Comments/by Suzanne
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week and that you all have exciting plans for the weekend. I’m sure mine will be filled with plenty of reading and getting caught up on my blog hopping. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on two of my recent reads, one of which was such a delightful surprise that I could easily see it making my “Best of” list at the end of the year.
The Littlest Library Goodreads
Author: Poppy Alexander
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Publisher: Avon Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’m not even going to lie. I picked up The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander because of that adorable cover. Who can resist a charming little red phone booth converted into a library? I sure couldn’t! I went into this book expecting a story just as cute as the cover and got so much more. The Littlest Library is a heartwarming story about community, family, and finding your place in this world. Oh and of course, it’s also about books. 😊
When we meet the protagonist, Jess Metcalf, she is having a rough go. She has just lost her job as a librarian, her grandmother has recently died, and when Jess tries to take a drive to clear her head after dealing with her grandmother’s estate, she takes a wrong turn and her car breaks down right in the middle of a tiny town in the English countryside. What Jess doesn’t realize at the time is that her wrong turn and subsequent breakdown is about to change her life in ways she never could have imagined.
I really adored Jess. She’s just so sweet and it’s obvious how much she loves her grandmother, Mimi. When I learned that her grandmother had practically raised her, my heart just broke all the harder for Jess when Mimi died. I also found it incredibly moving that Mimi, who knew she was dying, had boxed up all the books that she and Jess had treasured over the years to make sure that Jess kept them all. I loved the bond between these two women so much and especially that their bond was made all the stronger by the books they shared. Mimi’s last wish is for Jess to go out and find herself a new adventure, rather than stay in their old house alone. When Jess’ car breaks down in this cute little town in the country, she decides it’s a sign to do just that and buys herself a little cottage that happens to have an old red telephone booth on its property.
As much as I loved Jess, I really think the star of the book is this red phone booth and all that it symbolized, both for Jess and for the people in her new community. When Jess decides to clean it up and turn it into a little library, using hers and Mimi’s books, it gives her both a renewed sense of purpose and a wonderful way to connect with the people in the town, who haven’t had a library of any kind in years. They are starved for books and Jess is their hero. It made me smile watching so many people come and check books out, chat with each other and with Jess. There’s also a bit of a slow burn romance involving Jess and a grumpy neighbor that was enjoyable to read about, but I have to admit that I was pretty tunnel visioned on the library and the magic its books worked on everyone. Who knew a little phone booth and some books could create such a renewed sense of community to a town and give a young woman the fresh start she’s looking for?
I love books about books so I fully expected to enjoy The Littlest Library, but let me tell you, it far exceeded my expectations and left me with the biggest smile on my face. An absolute gem of a book! 4.5 STARS
Bet on It Goodreads
Author: Jodie Slaughter
Publication Date: July 12, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Bet on It by Jodie Slaughter was a much deeper read than I was expecting based on that cute cover with the bingo card. While the novel does feature a fun and sexy romance, it also offers an in depth exploration of social anxiety and panic attacks.
When we meet the protagonist, Aja Owens, she is having a panic attack in the local grocery store. A young man named Walker sees her in distress and helps her through the attack. Aja is mortified that he has witnessed her anxiety getting the best of her, but at the same time, she can’t help but notice how hot Walker is. When she then heads to Bingo night, she runs into Walker again. It turns out he is the grandson of her favorite bingo partner and that he’s in town to help his grandmother who has recently taken a nasty fall and is still healing from her injuries. Aja, still embarrassed that Walker witnessed her having a panic attack, would love nothing more than to get up from the bingo table and run away, but Walker seems genuinely happy to see her so she lets down her guard and decides there’s no harm in getting to know him better.
I enjoyed the chemistry between Aja and Walker very much. It was so much fun to watch the two of them bond over bingo, surrounded mostly by the senior citizen crowd. Their banter was hilarious at times, and once it becomes clear they are physically attracted to one another, they even make a steamy bet based on which of them can get a bingo first. While they definitely had a lot of fun together, I appreciated that they also had real discussions about mental health and that Walker reveals to Aja that he recognized her panic attacks because he also occasionally has them. The author does a wonderful job of exploring panic attacks and social anxiety both realistically and with great sensitivity.
There’s some added drama in the story that revolves around Walker and his past. He can’t wait for his grandmother to get better because he wants to get out of town and away from bad memories as soon as possible. His attraction to Aja throws a kink into those plans and it was interesting to watch the two of them navigate through such a messy situation. While I felt bad for Walker as we learn more about his past, there were times when I didn’t like him as much as I liked Aja. I felt that some of his thoughts about Aja’s curvy body were a little cringeworthy at times, and I wanted to knock him upside the head. That’s probably just a “me” thing though so I wouldn’t let it put you off from reading the book.
Overall, Bet on It is an entertaining read that should appeal to anyone who enjoys not only a fun romance but also emotional and heartfelt exploration of mental illness. 3.5 STARS
Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE SWEETNESS OF FORGETTING by Kristin Harmel
/20 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 SWEETNESS OF FORGETTING by Kristin Harmel. Kristin Harmel is one of my favorite historical fiction authors so I’m always eager to get my hands on every new novel she comes out with. This one sounds fabulous, especially since it’s set in both Cape Cod and Paris.
THE SWEETNESS OF FORGETTING by Kristin Harmel
Publication Date: August 7, 2022 by Gallery Books
From Goodreads:
A baker in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, must travel to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother’s and what she learns may change everything. The Sweetness of Forgetting is the book that made Kristin Harmel an international bestseller.
At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her for a twenty-two year old, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.
Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.
Hope’s emotional journey takes her through the bakeries of Paris and three religious traditions, all guided by Mamie’s fairy tales and the sweet tastes of home. As Hope pieces together her family’s history, she finds horrific Holocaust stories mixed with powerful testimonies of her family’s will to survive in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she’ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake…
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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. 🙂