Source: TLC Book Tours

Blog Tour | Review: Summer on Mirror Lake

Posted June 3, 2019 / Book Reviews / 3 Comments

Review I was itching to return to Honeymoon Harbor – one of my favorite small-town settings! I fell right back in love with it from the first couple of chapters. I was worried that I’d forget the previous books (I seriously read too many cute small town companion series; I thought I would mix them up), but Ross did a nice job of reintroducing me to the town. It’d be easy to start in the middle of this series if you were unable to start at the beginning, that’s for sure. This story centers around Gabe and Chelsea. Gabe, one of the infamous Mannion brothers of Honeymoon Harbor, returns home to the Pacific Northwest after a health scare in NYC, where he has been working himself to the bone on Wall Street. Chelsea, a local librarian, begins caring for two foster children, and begins a wonderful summer romance with Gabe. I loved how honest they were about their attraction and nervousness on their first “date” – that’s always my favorite kind of romance. Miscommunication and lack of openness can lead to the black moment in romance too often and it’s refreshing to read something else. Chelsea was a great character – I loved that she was definitely not afraid to be herself and stand up for her opinions. The early scene where she talked about romance books with Gabe was perfection. (I may just have a soft spot for bookish / librarian MCs!) As I alluded to before, the romance […]

Blog Tour | Review: Only Ever Her

Posted May 31, 2019 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Review I was intrigued from the start with this book! I have been really trying to read more mystery/thrillers (especially the kind of domestic suspense genre like this one). ONLY EVER HER centers around the perfect small-town girl Annie, who goes missing days before her wedding. Did she leave on her own with a case of cold feet? Is her high school (guy) best friend, who clearly loves her, to blame somehow? Is this tied in to her mother’s murder and the previously-jailed suspect now walking free? The story alternated between a few points of view: Annie (at first), Kenny (the high school friend who loved her), Clary (her cousin), Faye (her guardian and aunt, who she lived with after her mom was killed), and Laurel (the reporter in the town who knew Annie from high school). Other relevant characters, who didn’t have specific points of view chapters, included Scott (her fiancee), the pastor who was set to marry them, Tracy (her best friend and bridesmaid), Hal (the sheriff)… and countless others. The small town had a lot of people who knew each other and loved Annie, which made it so interesting to see them rally around her. As you can guess, there were a lot of interconnected people and factors at play throughout the story, which made it fascinating to try to “solve.” I kept thinking that some ideas I had were too obvious and genuinely couldn’t figure out what had happened to Annie. It was refreshing, to be […]

Blog Tour Review: Pretty in Punxsutawney

Posted January 14, 2019 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

I’m a huge fan of everything this book promised. I love Groundhog Day (the movie, of course, but also books with this premise) and Pretty in Pink (and allll of the similar 80s movies). My grandfather was proudly from Punxsutawney, PA, so the setting made this even more interesting for me! I’ve been wanting to plan a trip there in his honor for years. My papa used to train me on how to spell Punxsutawney when I was SO young, bringing out an actual chalkboard like a teacher and making me learn how to spell it – he loved that town. Andie had a looooot of cringe-worthy moments in the first section of the book. I got some major secondhand embarrassment and wanted to shake her out of her Colton-shaped reverie. (This is the guy she set her sights on in the beginning, when she first moved to Punxsutawney.) She was often judgmental about everyone she met in school on her first day, which made her a little hard to deal with at first. I was definitely reminded of Before I Fall in a few ways (and it’s one of my favorite books). The MC has to learn from her mistakes and become less of a mean girl in order to actually move on to the afterlife. She experiences the same “Groundhog Day” phenomenon, learning more and more about herself in the process. I had a feeling that Andie would do this too, even though she wouldn’t necessarily qualify as […]

Blog Tour | The Witch of Willow Hall (Giveaway!)

Posted October 25, 2018 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

I always attempt to read fall-time reads (books about witches, Halloween, and other general creepiness or mysteries), so this book seemed like it’d be right up my alley. I like historical fiction books but generally prefer that they have some kind of fantasy/paranormal elements to keep me going, so again – this was a great option for me this October! I’ll be honest, it was still mostly out of my wheelhouse. I also decided to mix in the audiobook in between reading the egalley. I kind of liked the narrator’s voice because it did seem to match the time period, but it was always a little jarring when I pressed “play” and heard it again after a while. Her voice is very unique and somewhat off-putting at times, which unfortunately can affect the characters for me. I’m glad I mixed up listening and reading though, so I could picture the characters in my own way when I finished the book off via egalley. The first quarter of the book spent a lot of time setting the stage and allowing the family to settle in to their new surroundings. They were shamed out of Boston, for some mysterious and scandalous reason that takes a while to come out, and are settling in New Oldbury, MA. They start to get some visitors (the father’s business partners) who grow close to the family and don’t seem to know about their scandal. There are weird occurrences in the house that mostly affect the two […]

Blog Tour: After Nightfall

Posted August 8, 2018 / Book Reviews / 3 Comments

Review I’ve been trying to expand my reading horizons a little bit (especially after my mid-year goal check-in, when I remembered that I wanted to read 50% or less contemporary fiction books), so this story allowed me the opportunity to do just that. Not only is it a psychological thriller, but it’s also adult fiction instead of YA. I was intrigued by the premise because “friendship” stories are my cup of tea, especially when friends coming together can have disastrous consequences. I was excited to jump into this story. Marissa is getting married and decides to bury the hatchet with a friend who had long-ago betrayed her. She invites her to the engagement party… and then she ends up dead off the side of a cliff. Marissa decides to investigate the accident (or murder?) and finds so many people in her life are implicated. I appreciated Marissa’s dedication to her job as a SLP (this was a really detailed part of the book, even though she was on leave throughout the story), but I otherwise didn’t love her as a main character. She poked and prodded to get answers but kept forcing things despite signs she should back off. I kept wanting her to tread more carefully. She didn’t trust anyone, which was mostly a good thing, but she was bulldozing into conversations with people without thinking of how they might be affected if what she knew was true. She refused to believe that certain things were true, despite all […]

Blog Tour | The Art of Inheriting Secrets

Posted July 18, 2018 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

I was very intrigued by the synopsis for this one and couldn’t resist joining the tour. Family secrets, old manors, and small English villages are always read-bait for me. It seemed like a book that would grab me and not let me go until I was finished with the story, which I definitely needed in my unexpected reading slump this summer. The main character, Olivia, heads to England to uncover the mysteries of her mom’s past. She quickly learns that she’s essentially royalty in this small village. The book started off with so many intriguing elements that I was dying to know what was going to happen next; I loved meeting many of the local characters so early in the story. There was even a very unexpected reference to one of my favorite old movies, The Point! Literally did not see that coming in any book I’ll ever read haha. (The dog was mentioned later but it was awkward because he asked if she had pets and he already knew she had a dog, Arrow, based on this early reference… Just a missed continuity error! I noticed a couple of those, but nothing major.) I thought there were some repetitive conversations early on, when Olivia was learning about her mother and grandmother. Many of the side characters in the village that she met had similar things to say about them and it felt like I read the same conversations multiple times. I also didn’t love how her relationship with Grant, […]

Blog Tour: The Summer List

Posted June 18, 2018 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

This book was so well-crafted; I loved watching everything unfold and the many secrets fall into place. It did sometimes feel a little disconnected because there were three “points of view” and times that it switched between. There were italicized chapters involving two girls and a religious summer camp, which took place back in the 1970s/1980s; chapters with two different girls throughout their history of friendship in the late 1990s; and chapters with the present day women and their scavenger hunt. The latter two focused on Laura and Casey as they grew closer and then grew apart. The italicized chapters from farther back in time were a slight mystery that eventually tied into everything later. I always forget how much I enjoy stories like this, with multiple generations and different time frames between chapters. This one had light moments about friendship, sweet moments with Laura and her father’s bond, and heavier moments about health, family secrets, and breaking up. It’s a heavier “beach read” if I had to give it that label. I love books about scavenger hunts or bucket lists, especially when there are so many layers to why they were hunting in the first place. The scavenger hunt history was intriguing to read about, and everything fell into place from there. Even when I thought I had most of the secrets figured out, there was more to come. Things that could have been obvious but didn’t click into place until the very end. It was a fascinating journey […]

Blog Tour | Review: Herons Landing

Posted May 29, 2018 / Book Reviews / 3 Comments

Review As you know, companion series involving cozy towns always make it onto my TBR. I love meeting everyone in the town, exploring the local small business, and picturing the scenery. HERONS LANDING was already ticking off a lot of those boxes. In this series, you can also add in a Romeo and Juliet-style “warring families” kind of feud that runs deep throughout the town. The Harpers and the Mannions have been at odds for years and now many of the family members are starting to comingle. There’s a lot of history to unpack and many characters are introduced in this first story, which makes me feel like this will be a nice ongoing thread throughout each upcoming book. This story stars Brianna Mannion, a hospitality specialist returning home to revamp an old building into a B&B, and Seth Harper, operator of the town’s best construction company. Brianna always had a crush on Seth when they were kids, until her new best friend Zoe moved into town and swept him up. After Zoe’s tragic death in the line of duty, Seth has been simply going through the motions until Bri comes back into town with her project. There’s a loooot of tropes here and they’re all ones I love! The warring families, “second chance” unrequited love, childhood best friends, and (one I haven’t dealt with before) the best friend’s widower. Bri and Seth had a pretty open and easy relationship develop throughout the story (until the inevitable moment where things […]

Blog Tour Review: The Awkward Path to Getting Lucky | Hilarious Rom-Com

Posted August 7, 2017 / Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Review Guys… this book was so funny. I love contemporary romances that read more like romantic comedies! It makes me want to curl up and watch some of my old favorites. Book-wise, I would compare this one to My Not So Perfect Life and The Hating Game. Pretty big shoes to fill, but I think Summer Heacock pulls it off so well. This genre is often accused of being too predictable and formulaic (I know I’ve done it sometimes!), so it’s really awesome when a unique premise is brought to the table to switch things up. I wish I had a dollar for every time a vagina was referenced in one way or another; this book is centered around Kat’s “broken” one. She has a sudden realization that it’s been two years since she and her boyfriend have had sex, so she decides to give him a free pass to go out there until their anniversary and hook up. Meanwhile, she’ll be working on fixing her broken parts. She quickly starts going out with Ben, a regular customer at her cute cupcake shop/bakery, and tries to turn her reproductive organs around. I really enjoyed being inside Kat’s head. I smiled and laughed so much as she tried to navigate through this particular issue. Ben was nerdy and adorable; I loved him so much. AND Kat’s friends, who were central to the plot, were all excellent characters with different backstories and contributions. There are some definite #SquadGoals in the Cup My […]

Blog Tour | Review: The Goodbye Year

Posted September 9, 2016 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Initial Excitement When I saw the summary for this one, I knew I wanted to partake in the blog tour. I’m always fascinated by stories like this for some reason. The idea of multiple people and points of view – both the parents and kids – intrigued me. The slice-of-life style always ends up on my TBR because I think it’s really interesting to see how people live their daily lives. Summary in a Second A bunch of parents and their senior year students are gearing up for the final year of high school. Each family has some major familial and relationship issues. The story follows all of them through the first half of their senior year as they try to work through their problems and other craaaazy things happen to them. Storytelling & Setting The story takes place in Crystal Cove, California, which is described as an upscale down with lots of gated communities. It sounded like it could have been a setting for a series of Real Housewives, so I was definitely excited about that! I love reading about smaller communities – whether they’re rich ones or just average – because you can really feel how everyone knows each other. That’s absolutely key in this story. About those Characters Melanie, Keith, Seth, and Dane: Melanie has been dealing with her slacker son, Dane, now that her oldest, Seth, is off at college. She copes by drinking a little too much and is trying to get the lives of her family members […]