Blind Bake - ARC Review

Special shout out to the author, Denise Grover Swank, for allowing me on her review team and giving me access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Blind Bake

by: Denise Grover Swank

My Rating: 4.75 Stars/Would Recommend

Released: February 22, 2022
Genre: Mystery (some comedy and some romance)

I loved the beginning of this new series by Denise Grover Swank! If you've read any of her backlist, this series gives me some Rose Gardner/Summer Butler vibes, while also being its own story. There was a bit of romance, but the mystery was the main part. I was absolutely amazed by the way the author was able to take so many small details and weave them together so expertly so that the answer to the mystery makes perfect sense, even though the evidence is leading you in a million different directions the entire time. I'm very excited for the second book (and the rest of course)!

 

February Wrap-Up

Um...well, sorry it's been 6 months since our last wrap-up post! HAHA. Here's a look at books we loved, books we didn't love, and books we DNF'd during the month of February.

Jayme's Reads (9):

What I Rated Them:
This Close to Okay ☕☕☕☕
Queen of Babble ☕.5
Solutions and other Problems ☕☕☕☕.75
Party of Two ☕☕☕☕
Hello Girls ☕☕☕☕.75
Fix You ☕☕☕☕.75
Soulmate Equation ☕☕☕☕.5
While We Were Dating ☕☕☕☕.5
Malibu Rising ☕☕☕☕.75

Favorite Read:
Hello Girls

Least Favorite Read:
Queen of Babble

DNF?
You'll Be the Death of Me
Bridget Jones' Diary

Rolling into March:
Coronavirus & Christ
Food Triggers
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Redirect
Blind Bake

Reminders of Him - Five Star Review

 Reminders of Him

by: Colleen Hoover

FIVE STARS!!

Released: January 18, 2022
Genre: Romance +

If you didn't already know by now, now you know - Colleen Hoover is an absolute auto-buy author for me. The moment I hear about her releasing a book, it's pre-ordered. However, this may be one of my absolute favorites of hers.

This book was SO MUCH MORE than just a romance. I laughed. I cried! Heck, a couple times I had to just full on shut the book and take a deep breath. I literally loved every single piece of this book and I know I'll be hungover for a very long time! Colleen brought all of the real, raw personality traits to her characters in this book (which she's known for - don't get me wrong) and the way that it is tied together through her dual narrative was simply a work of art.

RUN, don't walk....to pick up this book. Seriously, it makes you look at so many things in a different way and it might just make you a better human being. (Also, isn't the cover art lovely?)

As Good As Dead - Five Star Review

 As Good as Dead

by: Holly Jackson

FIVE STARS!

Released: September 28, 2021
Genre: YA Mystery

I've read along to this entire trilogy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder) as it came out and honestly had almost forgotten about it until I saw that As Good As Dead was coming out and it would be the final one. Again, we follow Pip as she continues on with her podcast, exactly where it left off. Only this time, the danger seems to be even closer. I absolutely loved this series and this finale did not disappoint in the slightest! This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Although most times, when I see an ending like the one this had, I roll my eyes and think about how cliche it is, for this book it 100% worked and I found it to be the perfect ending to a great series. 

Matchmaking Mischief

Huge thank you to the authors and Laughing Heart Press for the free eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Genre? Romance

Series or Standalone? #4 in the Bad Luck Club series

Backlist? No. Published Today! (January 6, 2022)

New to me Author? Absolutely not.

What did I think?

Matchmaking Mischief is the 4th book of the Bad Luck series by these amazing authors. To begin, I absolutely loved the meet-cute that led to Willow and Alex. I can just imagine how annoying they each thought the other was! Though of course, I knew where the two of them were headed and I was completely ready for the journey we would have to take to get there.

This book was one of those where, as much as you love the main characters, the minor background characters are almost just as amazing. I could not stop laughing at all of the poor choices some of them were making!

One thing I really love about this series is that you know there's going to be a Happily Ever After, but it never feels forced or cheesy. The entire time we went from strangers to enemies to friends to lovers, I just got warm feelings as we watched our characters fall more and more in love.

This series is completely worth trying out and they're all quick reads so start at the beginning and go catch up!

Love At First Hate by A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank

 Huge thank you to the authors for the free eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

The first book in a new series by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella, authors of the USA Today bestselling Asheville Brewing series.

She wants his story. He wants his secrecy. Too bad he can’t stay away from her.

Molly

Blogging about bad dates used to be fun, but a girl can only take so much foolishness. So I broke up with my job.

Okay, full disclosure, I was fired. It’s a long, sordid tale, involving my sourdough starter—RIP, Fred!—and my ex-boss’s serious lack of humor.

Newly funemployed and in need of a break, I go to Asheville to dogsit for my sister…and stumble onto a scoop big enough to put my fake-dating days behind me forever.

Augusta Glower, local success story, wrote a bestseller about the self-help group she started. People think her system works, and copycat Bad Luck Clubs have sprung up nationwide. Something feels off, though, and a little poking around by yours truly suggests she stole the idea.

There’s one problem. I have to prove it, and the guy she ripped off—super-hot house flipper Caleb Reynolds—seems to…well, hate me. Which is too bad since his secrets aren’t the only thing I’d like to peel away.

* * *

Cal

Molly O’Shea is my worst nightmare.

Is she sexy as sin? Well…yeah. Does she smell like honeysuckle and trouble? No doubt. Is she determined to dig up my secrets with a backhoe? I’m pretty sure she got a two-week rental. But I’ll never talk. If the reason I started the club gets out, my whole life will implode.

So why is she so damn irresistible?

Genre? Romance

Backlist? No. Publishes tomorrow - August 12, 2021

New to me Author? Nope. Absolute favorites.

What did I think?

You know that feeling you get when you see that your favorite movie franchise is adding yet another sequel or spin-off and you're like "Okay, I get it. I love this. But we can stop now."? Yeah, that's not what happened here AT ALL. Love At First Hate had the potential to be just a weird flop of a spin-off but, as always, A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank just full on hit it out of the park.

Cal (co-founder of the Bad Luck Club from the original series - Asheville Brewery) has had credit stolen from him for founding the club and he has no intention of setting the record straight in case anyone found out his secret. Molly is in town dog-sitting for her sister Maisie and out of boredom, starts investigating the Bad Luck Club to try to break into official investigative journaling. As you can probably guess, man-who-doesn't-want-his-secrets-spilled and investigative-journalist-set-on-finding-the-whole-truth don't really mesh. But *spoiler* (only not really, because look at the title and the fact that this is a romance book) this definitely fits the enemies-to-lovers trope in the best way.

Enemies-to-lovers isn't necessarily a trope I go looking for, so I don't have a ton of history with them, but I really did love reading about Cal and Molly. This book, like many of the others, is written through dual-perspective between our two main characters. It was so frustrating reading both of their thoughts when if they would just talk to each other, things would have been solved faster! And when I say frustrating, I mean I was like "Just tell her!" and kept reading to see if he did. I will absolutely read more of this series. I fell in love with all the quirky characters that were only just mentioned in the Asheville Brewery series. Definite 4.5 stars. These two are incredible co-authors.

July Wrap-Up

July is over and it's almost back to school for some of us! Here's a look at books we loved, books we didn't love, and books we DNF'd during the month of July. 

 Jayme's Reads (14):

What I Rated Them:

The Arrangement ☕☕☕

In A Book Club Far Away ☕☕☕☕.5

With the Fire on High ☕☕☕☕.5

Honey Girl ☕☕☕☕.75

Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids ☕☕☕☕.25

Atheists Who Kneel and Pray ☕☕☕☕.5

Act Your Age, Eve Brown ☕☕☕☕

A Court of Silver Flames ☕☕☕.25

Us Against You ☕☕

Life's Too Short ☕☕☕☕☕

Dark Roads ☕☕☕☕

Red, White, and Royal Blue ☕☕☕☕.5

Where is God When I Need Him? ☕☕☕☕

The Peace Project ☕☕.5

Favorite Read: 

Life's Too Short!

Least Favorite Read:
Us Against You - I enjoyed Beartown, but was this sequel really necessary?

DNF?:
None. :)

Rolling over to next month: 

Forget Me Not (currently holding onto this to return to later)

All Girls (currently holding onto this to return to later)

The Bridesmaid (will be finishing in the next couple days)

Love at First Hate (will be finishing in the next couple days)

Unicorn Untamed (will be finishing soon)

Mud Vein

The Push

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams

 Huge thank you to the publisher for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

From the author of the “full-throttle thriller” (A. J. Finn) No Exit—a riveting new psychological page-turner featuring a fierce and unforgettable heroine.

Three months ago, Lena Nguyen’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge sixty miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version.

But Lena isn’t buying it.

Now she’s come to that very bridge, driving her dead twin’s car and armed with a cassette recorder, determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister’s body.

Corporal Raymond Raycevic has agreed to meet Lena at the scene. He is sympathetic, forthright, and professional. But his story doesn’t seem to add up. For one thing, he stopped Cambry for speeding a full hour before she supposedly leapt to her death. Then there are the sixteen attempted 911 calls from her cell phone, made in what was unfortunately a dead zone.

But perhaps most troubling of all, the state trooper is referred to by name in Cambry’s final enigmatic text to her sister: Please Forgive Me. I couldn’t live with it. Hopefully you can, Officer Raycevic.

Lena will do anything to uncover the truth. But as her twin’s final hours come into focus, Lena’s search turns into a harrowing, tooth-and-nail fight for her own survival—one that will test everything she thought she knew about her sister and herself...

Genre? Thriller

Backlist? No. Published June 15, 2021.

New to me Author? No.

What did I think?

I'm not even sure I could put my thoughts about this book into words, but I will certainly try. Starting with "WOW!". I think Taylor Adams is becoming one of my favorite authors. I really need to dig into their backlist a little more. I fell in love with the high energy thriller No Exit and then Hairpin Bridge kept that same energy up. One thing I really enjoy about this author is that although he's a male, he writes a very convincing female perspective. A lot of times writing through the lens of the opposite gender doesn't seem to work out so well, but Taylor is great at it. In fact, I really thought Taylor Adams was a girl until I looked into their biography! 

In Hairpin Bridge, Lena takes a trip to meet with the officer who found her sister's body after her "suicide". Lena is unconvinced that her sister would ever kill herself, so she's there to find the truth. Officer Raycevic's story doesn't add up with what Lena knows about her sister. She's set out to confront him about it, even if she's a bit worried about her own life in the process.

The twists and turns in this novel were incredible. I never saw them coming, but they weren't completely ridiculous either! I will definitely be picking up any future Taylor Adams novels and will start looking into the backlist. 

June Wrap-Up

We are halfway through 2021! Here's a look at books we loved, books we didn't love, and books we DNF'd during the month of June. 

 Jayme's Reads (15):

What I Rated Them:

Into the Drowning Deep ☕☕.5

Ties That Tether ☕☕☕☕.5

Luck of the Draw ☕☕☕☕.5

Couple Found Slain ☕☕☕.25

28 Summers ☕☕☕☕.5

Th1rt3en ☕☕☕.5

The Book of Two Ways ☕☕☕.5

Beartown ☕☕☕☕.25

In Five Years ☕☕☕.75

The Lies She Told ☕☕☕☕.75

Hairpin Bridge ☕☕☕☕☕

Pretty Little Wife ☕☕☕☕

White Fragility ☕☕☕.5

The Peculiar Fate of Holly Banks ☕☕☕☕.25

Dear Sweet Pea ☕☕☕☕

Favorite Read: 

Hairpin Bridge

Least Favorite Read:
Into the Drowning Deep

DNF?:
None. :)

Rolling over to next month: 

Forget Me Not (currently holding onto this to return to later)

All Girls (just got my hold back - will read in July)

In a Book Club Far Away

The Peace Project

The Bridesmaid

Where is God When I Need Him?

Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids

The Lies She Told by Denise Grover Swank

  Huge thank you to the author for the free eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

It's been a week since Carly Moore’s friend Jerry was run off the road and killed, and the sheriff’s department has already struck out on leads. She’s not about to sit back and let it go, but the last thing she wants is to endanger anyone else. Besides, as she learned long ago, problems come in threes.

A mysterious woman causes a ruckus in the tavern where Carly works and leaves behind a note: We’ve got some unfinished business, Carly Moore. I’ll be in touch. The stranger looks like trouble, and Carly knows it means nothing good. Then, on the heels of that encounter, she gets shocking news: the crime syndicate her father co-ran has been taken down by the authorities.

She’s not foolish enough to think her father has been neutralized, but she realizes she needs to act against him soon if she wants to stop hiding.

The deeper Carly digs into her family’s past, the more dirt she finds. But lies are told for a reason, and there are people around her who are willing to kill to keep the truth hidden.

Genre? It's got a little bit of Romance, little bit of Mystery.

Backlist? No. This was published June 8, 2021.

New to me Author? Not at all.

What did I think?

When Carly first showed up in Henryetta, I instantly loved her as a character in Rose Gardner's world. Now that she's found her way to Drum (and to Marco!) I can't help but love her even more. It seems like every time she starts to get comfortable, something crazy happens. The Lies She Told is no different. Carly receives a mysterious note from a woman she doesn't recognize, claiming that they have unfinished business. But speaking of unfinished business, Carly is still running from her father, even though the Hardshaw group has been caught. Can she keep her friendships in Drum, figure out what this crazy lady wants, take down Bart Drummond, and stay hidden?

Yet again, a phenomenal book by Denise Grover Swank. She never ceases to amaze me. This woman has written and co-written well over 50 books, in a variety of genres, and she does it so well! Even with putting out multiple books with publication dates less than a month apart, nothing feels half-assed. If something in a book doesn't turn out exactly how she wants it, Denise Grover Swank will literally push back the release day and re-write entire chunks. This just shows how dedicated she is to her craft. As a long time reader and reviewer of her books, Thank you Denise. I can't wait for your next installment.

May Reading Wrap-Up

Wait, now May is over too? Here's a look at books we loved, books we didn't love, and books we DNF'd during the month of May. 

 Jayme's Reads (15):

What I Rated Them:

Inconceivable ☕☕☕.5

The Return ☕☕☕☕.5

The Wife Who Knew Too Much ☕☕☕☕.75

Beach Read ☕☕☕.25

Hamnet ☕☕.25

Broken ☕☕☕☕.25

The Mother-in-Law ☕☕☕☕

The Heist ☕☕☕

Wintering ☕☕☕.5

One Two Three ☕☕☕☕.5

Twice in a Blue Moon ☕☕☕☕

Sadie ☕☕☕☕.5

See Me ☕☕☕☕.75

When Breath Becomes Air ☕☕☕☕.5

Something She's Not Telling Us ☕☕☕

Favorite Read: 

The Wife Who Knew Too Much

Least Favorite Read:
Something She's Not Telling Us

DNF?:
None. :)

Rolling over to next month: 

Into the Drowning Deep (waiting on audiobook hold)

Forget Me Not (currently holding onto this to return to later)

All Girls (currently holding onto this to return to later)

In a Book Club Far Away

The Peace Project

The Peculiar Fate of Holly Banks

The Bridesmaid

The Bridesmaid by Nina Manning

Huge thank you to @netgalley for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Your best friend. Your worst nightmare...

From the moment they met as children, Sasha knew that beautiful, wealthy, and confident Caitlin would always be her absolute best friend. Sasha would do anything to make Caitlin happy.

Even keep her darkest secrets…

The years have passed, but their friendship remains. And when Caitlin announces she’s getting married there is only one choice for the role of bridesmaid. Sasha will make sure Caitlin’s wedding is as beautiful and perfect as she is. Won’t she?

But as the big day approaches, cracks begin to appear. Because no matter what Sasha does, she never seems to make Caitlin happy.

And the secrets that once bound these two friends, now threaten to rip them apart for good...

Genre? Psychological thriller

Backlist? No. Pub day is today! May 27, 2021.

New to me Author? Yes.

What did I think? 

Woot Woot! Happy Publication Day to The Bridesmaid by @ninamanning_author!

Huge thanks to the author, @netgalley, & @bookandtonic for the eARC.

Think about your best friend. You've been friends for most of your life. Of course you'd want them in your wedding, right?

The Bridesmaid was a page-turning novel that kept me reading to see what came next. It is suspenseful and really gives us a look into what friendship sometimes looks like.

Y'all, I legitimately questioned my feelings about friendships after this one.

.5

April Reading Wrap Up

Another month has flown by. Here's a look at books we loved, books we didn't love, and books we DNF'd during the month of April. 

 Jay's Reads (20):

(Not Pictured: Winter Storms, Winter Solstice, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Bad Luck Club, and Yes & I Love You)

What I Rated Them:

Move Your Bus ☕☕☕☕

Two by Two ☕☕☕.5

This is My America ☕☕☕☕.5

Anxious People ☕☕☕☕.75

Nothing to See Here ☕☕☕.5

Winter Street ☕☕☕.25

The Cousins ☕☕☕☕.25

Winter Stroll ☕☕☕.5

Clap When You Land ☕☕☕☕.5

The Family Upstairs ☕☕☕☕.5

Winter Storms ☕☕☕☕.5

The Stranger Beside Me ☕☕☕

Winter Solstice ☕☕☕☕.5

Untamed ☕☕☕☕.75

The Vanishing Half ☕☕☕☕.75

Fierce Kingdom ☕☕☕.25

Dress Coded ☕☕☕.5

The Newcomer ☕☕☕☕.25

The Perfect Daughter ☕☕☕☕

Tiger Wars ☕☕☕.5

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ☕☕☕☕.5

Yes & I Love You ☕☕☕☕.5

Bad Luck Club ☕☕☕☕.75

Favorite Read: 

Anxious People, Untamed, and The Vanishing Half

Least Favorite Read:
Fierce Kingdom

DNF?:
I DNF'd Hamnet, but I put the audiobook on hold through the library and I'm going to try it that way.

Rolling over to next month: 

Hamnet (Waiting for audiobook)

Forget Me Not (currently holding onto this to return to later)

All Girls (currently holding onto this to return to later)

The Return

Inconceivable

In a Book Club Far Away

Bad Luck Club by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella

 Huge thank you to the authors for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

The fourth book in the USA Today bestselling Asheville Brewing series.

A grumpy man. A recovering people-pleaser. And the secret club that brings them together.

Lee Buchanan is a hot mess.

Turning one’s father in to the feds can do that to a man.

He had nothing to do with his father’s Ponzi scheme, but he’s blacklisted from commercial real estate all the same. Which is how he ends up in Asheville, working at the brewery he inherited with his siblings. He’s salty as hell, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

Until the gorgeous, intriguing Blue Combs issues the most peculiar invitation he’s ever received: Come to the Bad Luck Club. We can help you.

It sounds like a cult or, worse, a group of Mary Sues, but Blue is different from any woman he’s ever met. For better or worse, he’s drawn to her.

Just like she’s drawn to him, even if she has no intention of going all in with another man. She’s been there, done that, twice, and the life she’s built for herself is too important to risk.

What starts as one person’s desire to help another turns into a connection too powerful to be denied—but can two broken people grow together, or will they tear each other apart?

Genre? Contemporary Fiction/Romance

Backlist? No. This book is being published April 5, 2021.

New to me Author? Not at all.

What did I think? 

You would think that these women would eventually run out of plot lines but you would be extremely wrong.

Somehow they just get better and better with each installment of the Asheville Brewery series.

In Bad Luck Club, we finally get to follow sweet, unique, Blue and get a little more background about why she is who she is. We also get to see Lee as he tries to bounce back from what happened in the last book.

Seriously, I could not have asked for a better story to come out of this. These two authors are extremely talented and you can tell they put their whole hearts and souls into each project. I can't wait to get ahold of their new series this summer!

In the meantime, you should definitely catch up on the Asheville Brewery series and grab Bad Luck Club when it comes out later this week! 

March Reading Wrap-Up

 Jay's Reads (16):

What I Rated Them:

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them ☕☕☕☕.25

The Husband Maker ☕☕☕.5

Never Have I Ever ☕☕☕☕☕

A Court of Thorns and Roses ☕☕☕☕☕

A Court of Mist and Fury ☕☕☕☕

Olive ☕☕☕.5

The Longest Ride ☕☕☕.75

Always You ☕☕☕.75

One to Watch ☕☕☕.5

A Court of Wings and Ruin ☕☕☕☕☕

A Court of Frost and Starlight ☕☕☕.75

1984 ☕☕☕

Big Summer ☕☕☕☕.25

How to Be an Anti-Racist ☕☕☕.75

Troubles in Paradise ☕☕☕☕.25

Leave the World Behind ☕☕☕☕.25

Favorite Read: 

Never Have I Ever and the Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Least Favorite Read:
1984.

DNF?:
None this month! 

Rolling over to next month: 

All Girls

Forget Me Not

Bad Luck Club

The Vanishing Half

Anxious People
Hamnet

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Meg's Reads (5):

What I Rated Them: 
Courage to Soar ☕☕☕
Barely Functional Adult ☕☕☕
Meet You in the Middle ☕☕☕☕☕
Lawyer for the Dog ☕☕☕☕

The Kindest Lie ☕☕☕☕

Favorite Read: Meet You in the Middle

Least Favorite Read: Barely Functional Adult

DNF: Nada. 

Carrying Over to Next Month:
Atheists Who Kneel and Pray 

Well Played

Greenlights

Liberal Privilege

February Reading Wrap-Up

 Jay's Reads (13):

What I Rated Them:

Juliet Takes a Breath ☕☕☕☕.75

The Bad Muslim Discount ☕☕☕☕.5

Only You ☕☕☕☕.75

The Wife Upstairs ☕☕☕☕.25

It All Falls Down ☕☕☕☕.75

The Future is Yours ☕☕☕☕

The Happily Ever After Playlist ☕☕☕☕.75

Frankly in Love ☕☕☕☕.75

The Girl in the Mirror ☕☕☕☕☕

Until You ☕☕☕☕.5

All Your Perfects ☕☕☕☕.75

Evvie Drake Starts Over ☕☕☕.5

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill ☕☕☕

Favorite Read: 

The Girl in the Mirror

Least Favorite Read:
They were all good this month! But if you're going to make me pick, The Future is Yours.

DNF?:
None this month! 

Rolling over to next month: 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (I'll finish March 1st)

All Girls

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them

Never Have I Ever

The Husband Maker

Forget Me Not

Meg's Reads (4):

What I Rated Them: 
It All Falls Down ☕☕☕☕☕

Strong Enough ☕☕☕☕

I'll Be Gone in the Dark ☕☕☕☕

One to Watch ☕☕☕☕☕

Favorite Read: It All Falls Down

Least Favorite Read: None. 

DNF: Nada. 

Carrying Over to Next Month:
Atheists Who Kneel and Pray 

Well Played

Color Me In by Natasha Dia

  This week's Five Star read was read by Jay! 

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Debut YA author Natasha Díaz pulls from her personal experience to inform this powerful coming-of-age novel about the meaning of friendship, the joyful beginnings of romance, and the racism and religious intolerance that can both strain a family to the breaking point and strengthen its bonds.

Who is Nevaeh Levitz?

Growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City, sixteen-year-old Nevaeh Levitz never thought much about her biracial roots. When her Black mom and Jewish dad split up, she relocates to her mom's family home in Harlem and is forced to confront her identity for the first time.

Nevaeh wants to get to know her extended family, but one of her cousins can't stand that Nevaeh, who inadvertently passes as white, is too privileged, pampered, and selfish to relate to the injustices they face on a daily basis as African Americans. In the midst of attempting to blend their families, Nevaeh's dad decides that she should have a belated bat mitzvah instead of a sweet sixteen, which guarantees social humiliation at her posh private school. Even with the push and pull of her two cultures, Nevaeh does what she's always done when life gets complicated: she stays silent.

It's only when Nevaeh stumbles upon a secret from her mom's past, finds herself falling in love, and sees firsthand the prejudice her family faces that she begins to realize she has a voice. And she has choices. Will she continue to let circumstances dictate her path? Or will she find power in herself and decide once and for all who and where she is meant to be?

Genre? Young Adult, Contemporary, #OwnVoices

Backlist? Yes. Published August 20, 2019.

New to me Author? Yes. This was her debut novel.

Why I rated it 5 stars? 

This book was so much more than your average coming of age story. Nevaeh is growing up in a world where she passes for white, despite the fact she is also half Black. Oh, and she's Jewish also. This book tackles so many relevant issues and does so beautifully. It's an #OwnVoices novel based on the author's experience growing up mixed and Jewish. She has an author's note in the back that really sums up her own experiences. This was a Book of the Month book, but honestly I had only heard about it from a friend. I don't know why this isn't more hyped. This was unquestionably 5 stars!

The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher

 This week's Five Star read was read by Jay! 

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Have you ever been wrong about someone?

Juno was wrong about Winnie Crouch.

Before moving in with the Crouch family, Juno thought Winnie and her husband, Nigel, had the perfect marriage, the perfect son—the perfect life. Only now that she’s living in their beautiful house, she sees the cracks in the crumbling facade are too deep to ignore.

Still, she isn’t one to judge. After her grim diagnosis, the retired therapist simply wants a place to live out the rest of her days in peace. But that peace is shattered the day Juno overhears a chilling conversation between Winnie and Nigel…

She shouldn’t get involved.

She really shouldn’t.

But this could be her chance to make a few things right.

Because if you thought Juno didn’t have a secret of her own, then you were wrong about her, too. 

Genre? Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Backlist? Yes. Published December 30, 2020.

New to me Author? Nope.

Why I rated it 5 stars? 

Wow! Tarryn has such a way with writing books where you think you know exactly what's going on, just to find out halfway through (and then again at the end) that you're wrong. I did not see these twists coming and I very much enjoyed it. I loved trying to figure out what was going on with Juno, Winnie, and Sam. Tarryn just weaves together such a great story. I am SO GLAD I got this right away after it was published. I've been looking forward to it since 2019.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

 Unfortunately, I haven't had a five star read yet this year so I'm switching it up and doing #FavoritesFriday so I can share one of my favorites with you! (Definitely not my only favorite. You wouldn't choose a favorite child would you?!)

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanan

Pub. Date: January 11, 2011

This book is ten years old and honestly, I think I read it sometime that year. But the mark that it left on me was enough for me to remember it as one of my absolute favorites, even now.

The story revolves around Jessica. She's a runner (Definitely NOT the part I related to lol) but one day she's in a car accident and loses her leg. (Not a spoiler. That's literally the whole point.) Now, she's struggling through the physical pain of losing her leg and trying to get used to a prosthetic, while also dealing with the emotional trauma of wondering if she will ever run again. Friends don't know what to say and some even start ignoring her.

Then we meet Rosa, a sweet girl with cerebral palsy. She's been treated in this same manner for pretty much her whole life so in a related, but not completely similar, way she understands what Jessica is going through. The silent looks. The whispers. Rosa begins tutoring Jessica in math and from there they begin to form a unique friendship. As the possibility of Jessica being able to run again starts to become clearer, Jessica shows a beautiful change of heart.

The reason I related to this book so thoroughly and why it remains one of my favorite books is because in many ways I could relate to Jessica. No, I did not lose my leg. But I did severely injure my knee, which cut my senior year volleyball career short after just the first couple games. I read this less than a year later, while also preparing for surgery to hopefully fix my knee. 

Jessica's inner thoughts spoke to me. Her angsty teenage depression was a lot of what I was also feeling those days. Definitely a case of "right book, right time". I remember wanting to give up because there were so many things I just couldn't do because of my brace and my crutches. But missing out on volleyball was the hardest (just like Jessica and her running). I never got to play out my final season where I finally made varsity starter. I didn't get to play in the game that decided if the team would go to state. I spent the rest of that season on the bench, dedicated to my team, but never set foot on that court again. To this day, I'm still kind of disappointed. 

The Running Dream is a beautiful story of growing up, learning to be strong - both physically and mentally, putting yourself into someone else's shoes, and helping to build up others who may be struggling too. 

The Best, The Worst, The Unexpected...Part 2

  

Hey everyone, its Meghan! The year 2020 is FINALLY behind us and I for one am glad to see it go! But, one good part of 2020 was the fact that, with most of the world shut down, I had way more time for reading. As a quick little wrap-up of my year in books, I thought I would introduce you to some of the best books I read this year, some of the worst books I read this year (in my opinion -- obviously others will love them and I greatly respect the authors for their time and their craft), and some of my reading stats.

Before we get to that, here's a quick wrap-up of my December reads:

One Tuesday Morning ☕☕☕☕

Beyond Tuesday Morning ☕☕☕☕

The Notebook Girls ☕☕☕

Beach Read ☕☕☕☕

Through the Lens ☕☕☕

Johnny Cash ☕☕☕☕

Ready? Let's go.

The Best...

Y'all, this category was SO HARD to choose books for!

Best Fiction: Things you Save in a Fire

Best Romance: Ties that Tether

Best Historical Fiction: I actually dont think I read a single historical fiction book in 2020 🤦‍♀️

Best Thriller: No Exit by Taylor Adams

Best Young Adult: Adorkable by Cookie O'Gorman

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy: I did not read a single sci-fi or fantasy book this year

Best Memoir: Know my Name by Chanel Miller

Best Classic: Nope. Again didn't read any classics 🤦‍♀️

Best Standalone Novel: I looooved The Book of Essie

Best Series: The Brew Series by Molly McAdams

Best Audiobook: I only listened to one, and that was A Mother's Reckoning

2020 Five Star Reads: 19

Just want to add a small disclaimer here. I'm using "The Worst" because it's what goes along with "The Best". But I know that just because a book doesn't work for me, doesn't mean it's a bad book. I firmly believe there are NO BAD BOOKS because obviously someone liked it to publish it. Authors are amazingly talented. These just weren't for me....

The Worst...

Least Liked Book I finished: Code Name Verity

2020 DNF: I didn't DNF a single book this year 

If 2020 was good for anything, it taught us that things don't always go as planned. Here's some twists I did not expect....

The Unexpected..

Book I thought I would love, but didn't:  The Notebook Girls

Book I thought I would hate, but loved: Big Summer

Most unexpected thriller twist: The Other Woman

Books over my Goodreads goal:  -9

Any other unexpected bookish happenings?

 Not that I can think of.