Format: eARC

Blog Tour Spotlight and Cover Colors: Lie to Me

Posted January 17, 2020 / Cover Colors, Features / 0 Comments
Blog Tour Spotlight and Cover Colors: Lie to Me

Welcome to my stop on the LIE TO ME blog tour! I’m here to do a quick spotlight on the book and a little bit of Cover Colors, since it’s been a while! In case you haven’t  seen it before, I typically pull the colors from the book cover and create a palette. I usually make some kind of outfit and accessory post to correspond but it’s hard to do that when the book is a mystery and involves some kind of murder or death… 😉 Cover Colors I was drawn to this cover right away because it’s pretty simple but haunting! The pops of pink color lighten it up a little bit too. I was definitely curious to read the story after having seen this cover initially. About the Author Kaitlin Ward grew up on a dairy farm in a tiny New Hampshire town, the same town where she lives now with her husband and son. She studied animal science at Cornell University and cofounded the well-known blog YA Highway. She is also the author of Where She Fell, Girl in a Bad Place, and Bleeding Earth. Find her on Twitter at @Kaitlin_Ward.

ARC Review: The Map From Here to There

Posted January 8, 2020 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments
ARC Review: The Map From Here to There

I realized while reading this book that I have not read new words from Emery Lord since 2017. (She did have a small story in an anthology from last year, I realized, but whatever.) That is EONS ago. I was obviously eager to read this book because THE START OF ME AND YOU is probably (???) my favorite Emery Lord book. I will tell you: I recommend rereading that one before this if you have a bad bookish memory. It’s obviously a contemporary romance, which makes it less challenging to get up-to-speed on (IMO), but I still found myself completely forgetting who people were. It didn’t take long to sink into her writing and characters though. This story follows Paige and Max beginning at the end of the summer. Max, as we know, was in Italy for a summer experience. Paige did an NYU film program and came home to work at the local cinema. We’re introduced to Hunter, her coworker that I LOVED, and I could just sense that some trouble may brew from their friendship down the line. Sidenote: give me a Hunter Chen book. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE! Anyways, this story brings us through senior year moments and highlights (as well as some definite lowlights). Paige is really struggling with her anxiety in this one and I definitely felt for her. I certainly deal with that on a daily basis but in a different way; it was challenging to see her unable to express her feelings. I wanted […]

Blog Tour: The Little Bookshop on the Siene

Posted January 3, 2020 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Blog Tour: The Little Bookshop on the Siene

Buy Links: Harlequin | Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million | Target | Walmart | Google | iBooks | Kobo Excerpt About Rebecca Raisin Author Website | Twitter: @JaxandWillsMum | Facebook: @RebeccaRaisinAuthor Instagram: @RebeccaRaisinWrites | Goodreads Rebecca Raisin is the author of several novels, including the beloved Little Paris series and the Gingerbread Café trilogy, and her short stories have been published in various anthologies and fiction magazines.

Holiday Reviews: Snowfall on Cedar Trail and Christmas at Silver Falls

Posted December 27, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Holiday Reviews: Snowfall on Cedar Trail and Christmas at Silver Falls

Story I’m always so excited to head back into Sweetwater Springs! As I’ve said a hundred times before, it’s one of my favorite small town settings for a companion series. I always find Annie Rains’ books to be sweet and steamy at the same time – never too cheesy! The story follows Tuck’s sister Halona, who owns the town flower shop, and her son Theo. He’s been struggling with selective mutism since his father died. The leading man is Alex, the chief of police, and Tuck’s best friend. The two have had chemistry since they grew up together. There were heavy plot points throughout the story that affected the main romance quite a bit (and other things – more on that in the next section). Theo was so adorable and usually I don’t love kids in books that much. The progression of Alex and Halona’s relationship was sweet and seeing his interactions with her son made it that much better. Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels Sweetwater Springs is a petty magical place during the holiday season! I loved reading about the town’s traditions and decorations. I think the heavier plot points in the story, like Halona’s history with Ted and Alex trying to solve his father’s murder, really took a lot away from the warm and fuzzy Christmas feels I’m used to in books like this. Overall This was a really lovely romance. I do wish there were a bit more Christmassy feels but the nature of their story, with […]

Holiday Reviews: The White Christmas Inn and Royal Holiday

Posted December 25, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Holiday Reviews: The White Christmas Inn and Royal Holiday

Story I really enjoyed this one, even more than I had hoped! The story is kind of a “slice of life” that takes place at a Vermont inn during the few days around Christmas. There were a lot of characters but I think there wasn’t TOO much detail about each of them, which ended up being a good thing. I was able to really just enjoy peeking in through the windows of this inn during the story. There was just enough backstory to feel invested in each of them. Molly, a writer of children’s books, comes to the inn in the hopes she’ll be able to finish her next book. She meets Marcus and his two girls and quickly falls for the small family. Hannah, who was set to get married at the inn over the holiday period, is sent reeling when her fiance calls it off. She luckily has her parents and maid of honor with her, as well as a reunion with her childhood friend Luke, to get her thought the heartbreak. Jeanne and Tim are the owners of the inn and struggling, both in their marriage and with the business itself. I loved reading about everyone’s different stories and the smaller side characters who come into play, like the grumpy British traveler and empty-nesters staying there too. Again, writing all of this further emphasizes how many characters and plotlines there are in such a short book, but it was really a nice quick snapshot of everyone’s lives […]

Blog Tour: Coming Home for Christmas

Posted December 21, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Blog Tour: Coming Home for Christmas

Purchase Links: Harlequin || Indiebound || Amazon || Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million || Target || Walmart || Kobo || iBooks || Google I have adored the Haven Point series for multiple years now and this is a highly anticipated installment for me. It follows Luke, whose wife disappeared seven years earlier, and his quest to get her back. He knew, of course, that he didn’t do anything terrible to her, but that didn’t exactly matter to other people in the town. Everyone assumed something terrible had happened and he was responsible. The other option is that Elizabeth walked away from her family on purpose. When Elizabeth ends up being found without her memories, we’re intended to learn what happened to her and fall for this family coming back together again. I adored Luke through his cameos in other books in this series and was so eager to see his own book, as I mentioned. He was known to be a kind man (again, despite some people assuming the worst about him and his wife’s whereabouts), so being in his head was something I was looking forward to. It took a while to get used to Elizabeth and not be frustrated about her internal thoughts. I didn’t sympathize with her right off the bat but it was pretty clear that some terrible things happened to her. I knew I would forgive her eventually 😉 It took more than two-thirds of the book before this felt Christmassy enough for me, but it was really sweet to see […]

Blog Tour: A Wedding in December

Posted December 11, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Blog Tour: A Wedding in December

Purchase Links: Harlequin || Indiebound || Amazon || Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million || Target || Walmart || Kobo || iBooks || Google I can’t lie: for the past few years I’ve generally avoided most books about weddings and/or being a bridesmaid. I’ve been in too many weddings recently ($$$) and was genuinely tired of thinking about them! It sucked though, frankly, because I usually would love reading about weddings and wedding/event planners! I’m glad that I have a few less weddings on my plate now… minus the planning of my own… so I was excited to dive into this holiday-centered one! This book is centered around Rosie’s wedding in Aspen, Colorado, and her family flying in from their home country of England. A lot of things could go wrong, as her parents are living separately and on the brink of divorce while her sister Katie thinks Rosie is making a mistake. Meanwhile, Rosie herself is having second thoughts about this whirlwind romance and Christmas Eve wedding. The three women were frustrating to read about at times, as they were singularly focused on specific things and it got a bit repetitive to read. Nick, the father, was my FAVORITE. Aspen was such a perfect setting for this story! I was a little sad, like Rosie’s mother was, at the beginning of the novel when she was discussing Christmas in their English cottage. Now THAT sounded like a book I wanted to read! However, like I said, Aspen is such a great snowy setting for a book […]

Holiday Reviews: The Matchmaker’s Mistletoe Mission and 10 Blind Dates

Posted December 6, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Holiday Reviews: The Matchmaker’s Mistletoe Mission and 10 Blind Dates

Story I was excited when I got approved for this holiday novella and first “book” in the Boots and Bouquets series. It seems like these books will center around the Bellini family’s winery (Red Moss Vineyard), where the entire family hosts weddings and – obviously – makes some wine! There are a number of siblings and parents who work there, so this novella did a good job of setting the stage for the series and introducing the characters. Aside from that, Alice meets Clay (the rancher next door) when they’re forced to sleep over the vineyard. They have some instant chemistry but she still pushes the idea of utilizing her matchmaking service on him. They end up spending more time together and boy did this get steamy for such a short little book! I love when I can FEEL the chemistry between the characters in such a short book. Very strong instalove here but it is what it is. Some things were too convenient, like how his house was EXACTLY like the house she’d always wanted?? Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels The main reason that Alice is stuck at the Bellini vineyard is because of a major unexpected snowstorm, which certainly added to the winter vibes of this one. It takes place in December because her friends’ wedding is an OUTDOOR ceremony then (yikes). Being snowed in with a potential romantic partner is one of my favorite holiday book tropes! There were some good Christmas decor moments and the snowiness […]

ARC Reviews: Mooncakes and The Bromance Book Club

Posted November 11, 2019 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment
ARC Reviews: Mooncakes and The Bromance Book Club

I had really high hopes going into MOONCAKES – it looked like a very cute, inclusive love story with a good amount of witchy magic and Halloween feels. I planned to read it ON Halloween but got sidetracked with finishing some other books for the end of the month, so I read it over the course of one night (the next day). I received an egalley for review but ended up purchasing the paperback after my review copy expired (whoops!). This graphic novel is about Nova, a hearing-impaired witch, who lives with her two grandmothers. Her parents passed away but do appear in the story. When a wolf is discovered in the nearby woods, Nova goes to investigate. It turns out to be her childhood friend, Tam, a non-binary werewolf. The two, along with the Nanas, work to remove a demon from their town. Lots of family feels and little touches of side-stories that I’d love to read more about. An old flame reignites between Nova and Tam and it’s THE CUTEST. I love childhood-BFFs-to-more storylines. I have to say, a higher rating could very well have happened here but I seriously struggle with rating graphic novels. I know that they’re just as good as reading a novel, obviously, but I personally rush through them. It’s like I have a timer in my head saying I NEED to finish a comic in one sitting, just because I know I can. I blaze through them and it results in lessened enjoyment. […]

Blog Tour | Excerpt and Q&A – Meant to Be Yours

Posted November 4, 2019 / Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Blog Tour | Excerpt and Q&A – Meant to Be Yours

Friends, I’m excited to highlight the latest release in the Happily, Inc series by Susan Mallery! This is exactly my kind of book. It’s a companion series focused around a “destination wedding town founded on a fairytale.” Like, if that doesn’t sound like a Lauren-book, I don’t know what does. It’s no secret I love small town companion series, especially when there’s a fun theme of the town and series. The Happily Inc website states that it all started when the owner of the local bank made up a tall-tale about the town helping people fall in love. It caught people’s attention nationally and thus became a hot wedding destination. The seven daughters of the original banker got married, had a lot of kids, and now this book series focuses on each of them finding their forever loves. Y’all, this website is ADORABLE. It has photos of what the townspeople look like, maps of the town, and more. Because I’m a completest about series, I plan to read the whole Happily Inc series in order. Today, I’m highlighting book number five: Meant to Be Yours. Check out the Q&A with Susan Mallery and an excerpt below! Meant to be Yours – Happily Inc Purchase links: Harlequin | Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million | Target | Walmart | Google | iBooks | Kobo About the Author SUSAN MALLERY is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels about the relationships that define women’s lives—family, friendship, romance. Library Journal says, “Mallery is the master of blending emotionally […]