Thanks so much to the author, Graydon House publishing, Netgalley, and Valentine PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour. { partner }
New York Times bestselling sensation Kylie Scott’s sexy, smart and unconventional opposites-attract love story looks at what happens when fate refuses to give up on what’s meant to be…
When Susie Bowen inherits a charming fixer-upper from her aunt, she’s excited to start living her best HGTV life. But when she opens the door to find that her contractor is none other than her ex’s best friend, Lars—the same man who witnessed their humiliating public breakup six months ago—she isn’t exactly eager to have anyone around whose alliance is with the enemy. But beggars can’t be choosers, and the sooner the repairs are done, the sooner she can get back to embracing singledom.
Things go from awkward to unbelievable when Lars discovers a divorce certificate hidden in a wall and dated ten years in the future—with both their names on it. It couldn’t possibly be real…could it? As Susie and Lars work to unravel the document’s origins, the impossibility of a spark between them suddenly doesn’t seem so far-fetched. But would a relationship between them be doomed before it’s even begun?
“Sweet and spicy—the unique setup, top-notch banter and charming enigma had me hooked.” —Anna E. Collins, author of Love at First Spite
Review (4 stars):
TW: toxic relationships (romantic and familial), loss of a family member, injury from a car accident
I was excited to read this book when I initially read the description, but this Seattle-based girl really fell in love once I started reading it and realized that it was set right here in my own back yard! Is there anything more fun for a reader than reading books set in your hometown?
Let’s talk about the characters. I really enjoyed Susie and Lars as our main character and love interest! I thought that they were both fun characters to read, and that they played off of each other nicely. I can totally see how these two characters would fall for each other. I wish we had gotten a dual POV so that we could see a bit of the process of him falling in love with her – especially since Susie was so reluctant to love all the way until the end of the book, I think it would have been nice to get a bit of his side of the love story too and maybe get a bit more of the he-fell-first side of the story.
I thought that the story itself was a really interesting idea, with a mystical and mysterious divorce certificate appearing out of nowhere, but obviously you do lose a bit of the realism in the story that way – so if you are someone that prefers to read stories that could really happen to anyone, keep in mind that you’ll want to go into this one with an open mind for the unexplainable.
I will say that one bit of the writing style took me a little bit to warm up to – and that is the way Susie’s inner monologue played out in the book. There were lots of sarcasm and slightly silly asides to herself that I wasn’t expecting, and like I said they took me a little bit of time to warm up to. I think partially because this book jumps right into the story (I think they find the divorce certificate on page 8 or 9), so there wasn’t really a ton of time to acclimate to the story or writing style.
I will also say that at times during conversations between characters it was a little bit tricky to determine which character was talking, but I’m not sure if that was the way it was written or if it was the fact that the galley I read had not yet been properly formatted, so take that bit with a grain of salt – entirely possible it is fixed in the finished copies!
Over all I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends and my fellow readers, especially my friends who live nearby – I mean really, reading a book set in your city is so much fun! I think that the perfect way to read this book would be curled up with a cat and a pint of ice cream. Molly Moon’s would be preferable, but if you’re not local, then anything delicious and sugary will do in a pinch!
About the Author:
(Taken from the author’s website, listed below)
Kylie is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling, Audie Award winning author. She has sold over 2,000,000 books and was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year four times by the Australian Romance Reader’s Association. Her books have been translated into fifteen different languages and she is based in Queensland, Australia.
Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the gifted, advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } My reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Adult
Romance Trope: Enemies to Lovers
Page Count:
Book Description from Goodreads:
From the international bestselling author of The Simple Wild and Ten Tiny Breaths comes a new stand-alone enemies-to-lovers, small-town romance.
Justine MacDermott is in what she would call a transition period: squatting in her best friend’s house and working in an appliance store in Polson Falls while the man she was supposed to marry starts a new life with someone else.
She’s definitely not thinking about slashing his tires and wishing his vital extremities would fall off.
When newcomer Garrett Harrington strolls into Murphy’s looking to buy a refrigerator, Justine convinces herself she’s found her rebound. Or the next love of her life. Either works. But a chance encounter leads her to discover that Garrett isn’t who he made himself out to be, and he’s more interested in hustling her kindly old boss out of his family business—and using her to do it.
Furious at being fooled by yet another man and itching for retribution, Justine enlists the help of unlikely townsfolk to battle Harrington Group’s big-city development plans for Polson Falls.
It’s all going to plan … until Justine finds herself crossing enemy lines.
The Hustler Next Door is set in the Polson Falls world. Books in this series can be read in any order.
Review (5 Stars):
Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the advanced gifted e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour! All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews, and my full blog tour, can be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog
TW: infidelity
When I read The Player Next Door in 2020, Justine was one of those sassy-best-friend types that stuck with me for a while, even though she wasn’t the main character. She was just so much fun, and I could tell that if she were someone in my real life she’d be the ride or die friend I always wanted. So when I heard she was getting her own story and romance, I couldn’t wait to jump into it! And I am glad to say that, in my opinion, she held up to the high hopes and dreams that I had for her.
This is an enemies to lovers story (which should surprise nobody. With Justine at the heart of it, would we expect anything less?), and I will say that the actual romance storyline doesn’t get started until you’re a good portion of the way through the book. There’s the sexual tension between our two leads right from when they meet in the beginning, and there are some fun and flirty scenes after that, but they don’t jump into the romance portion until later on, focusing a bit more on the enemies-portion of the plot. I enjoyed this, personally, and was glad for it. I tend to think that if a story is enemies-to-lovers then you need a good amount of time in the enemies territory before you jump headfirst into romance, otherwise it doesn’t feel like it fits into that trope. But for folks only here for the romance, that could be a drawback to this particular story.
Overall I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends and fellow readers. It’s a fun, fairly quick, fairly lighthearted read, and it made a perfect last read of the year! I think that the best way to read this book would be on a quiet night with some sort of delicious pistachio baked good.
Meet Kathleen:
K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.
She is the internationally bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild, Be the Girl, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.
K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto.
Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.
These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to share these new releases!
In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!
The Hustler Next Door
Author: K. A. Tucker
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Adult
Page Count:
Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
From the international bestselling author of The Simple Wild and Ten Tiny Breaths comes a new stand-alone enemies-to-lovers, small-town romance.
Justine MacDermott is in what she would call a transition period: squatting in her best friend’s house and working in an appliance store in Polson Falls while the man she was supposed to marry starts a new life with someone else.
She’s definitely not thinking about slashing his tires and wishing his vital extremities would fall off.
When newcomer Garrett Harrington strolls into Murphy’s looking to buy a refrigerator, Justine convinces herself she’s found her rebound. Or the next love of her life. Either works. But a chance encounter leads her to discover that Garrett isn’t who he made himself out to be, and he’s more interested in hustling her kindly old boss out of his family business—and using her to do it.
Furious at being fooled by yet another man and itching for retribution, Justine enlists the help of unlikely townsfolk to battle Harrington Group’s big-city development plans for Polson Falls.
It’s all going to plan … until Justine finds herself crossing enemy lines.
The Hustler Next Door is set in the Polson Falls world. Books in this series can be read in any order.
20% Review:
It’s been a while since I read The Player Next Door, and I had almost forgotten how much I loved Justine! She is such a fun character, and I’m having a lot of fun getting to know her again. So far it’s been a fairly quick read, but I’m not quite to the point where I can’t put it down yet. Also, so far the enemies-to-lovers aspect of this story has been so much fun! I may or may not be a tiny bit past 20% as I’m writing this, because I had such good reading momentum for a bit that I didn’t want to stop, and each scene that has both of our romantic leads in it so far has been so sassy and fun! I’m really excited to see how the rest of their story turns out!
Check out my full review and blog tour here!
The Villa
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell & Shiromi Arserio
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book! And thanks as well to Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for the gifted advanced audio copy!
Description from Goodreads:
From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.
As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.
Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.
As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.
Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.
Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.
20% Review:
I just started this book on audio, and I am just flying through it! So far we’ve gotten a bit of both timelines, the present and the past; background on the relationship between our two female leads; and some articles, lyrics, and excerpts written about, and by, the characters in the past sections. It’s been really engaging so far with the different types of storytelling, and I feel like I was pulled in to the story and invested in the characters from the very beginning! Although, I’ve loved just about everything I’ve read from Rachel Hawkins, so maybe that had a little something to do with it as well. Either way, I think I’ll be getting through to the end of this audiobook very soon, since I could barely convince myself to put it down long enough to write this!
Check out my full review here!
Drinking Games
Author: Sarah Levy
Narrated by: Sarah Levy
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Mental Health
Page Count: 288 pages
Audiobook Length: 6 hours 44 minutes
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book! And thanks also to Macmillan Audio for the gifted advanced audio copy!
Description from Goodreads:
Part memoir and part social critique, Drinking Games is about how one woman drank and lived — until sobriety freed her.
Drinking Games explores the role alcohol has in our formative adult lives, and what it means to opt out of a culture completely enmeshed in drinking. Sarah explores what our short-term choices about alcohol do to our long-term selves and how it challenges our ability to be vulnerable enough to discover what we really want in life. While many millennial women will see themselves in Sarah’s words and story, Drinking Games is dedicated to anyone who feels like their private struggles are terminally unique. Whether it’s alcohol, food, exercise, or work, so many of us are grasping for control and struggling to keep our heads above water.
Candid, dynamic, Drinking Games speaks to the millennial experience of working hard, playing harder, and wanting everything to look perfect on social media. Dedicated to those who might be questioning their relationship with alcohol but scared that quitting drinking is an ending, Drinking Games illustrates how, for one woman, sobriety was just the beginning of the story. Sarah’s words strike the perfect chord of relatability and biting honesty. Instead of claiming to have the answers, she takes readers by the hand throughout her journey, and shows us that life’s messiest moments are the ones that can end up being the most profound.
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
Breakup from Hell
Author: Ann Davila Cardinal
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Page Count: 304 pages
Thanks so much to the author, HarperTeen, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.
It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.
Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.
She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?
Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, Breakup From Hell will keep you hooked until the last page.
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
The Wrong Kind of Weird
Author: James Ramos
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Genre: YA, Romance, Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Fiction
Page Count: 320 pages
Thanks so much to the author, Inkyard Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
“Sweet, snarky, and delightfully dorky.” —Elise Bryant, author of Happily Ever Afters
Cameron Carson has a secret. A secret with the power to break apart his friend group.
Cameron Carson, member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, has been secretly hooking up with student council president, cheerleader, theater enthusiast, and all-around queen bee Karla Ortega since the summer. The one problem—what was meant to be a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers has now evolved into a clandestine senior-year entanglement, where Karla isn’t intending on blending their friend groups anytime soon, or at all.
Enter Mackenzie Briggs, who isn’t afraid to be herself or wear her heart on her sleeve. When Cameron finds himself unexpectedly bonding with Mackenzie and repeatedly snubbed in public by Karla, he starts to wonder who he can truly consider a friend and who might have the potential to become more…
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
Thanks so much to the author, Berkley Publishing, Netgalley, and Valentine PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour! { partner }
An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, hot romantic comedy series from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.
Could it possibly get any worse than having absolutely no magical abilities when you’re a member of the most powerful family of witches ever? It used to be that I’d say no, but then I keep getting set up on dates with Gil Connolly whose hotness is only matched by his ego. Seriously. I can’t stand him. Even if I also can’t stop thinking about him (specifically kissing him) but we’re going to pretend I never told you that part.
So yeah, my life isn’t the greatest right now, but then it goes straight to the absolute worst hell when I accidentally make my sister’s spell glitch and curse my whole family. And the only person who can help non-magical me break the spell? You guessed it. Gil the super hot jerk.
Now we have to work together to save my family and outmaneuver some evil-minded nefarious forces bent on world domination. Oh yeah, and we have to do all that while fighting against the attraction building between us because I may not be magical, but what’s happening between Gil and I sure feels like it.
Review (3.5 Stars):
Thanks so much to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, Valentine PR, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour. { partner } All opinions are entirely my own. All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.
I was so excited to receive an early copy of this book to review! People who have seen my Instagram or my recent books on Goodreads know that I LOVE a cozy, witchy romcom. Honestly, if they could make up my entire reading list from September through November, I would probably be content. And while I haven’t read anything by Avery Flynn up until this point, I’ve heard really fun things about her books from my fellow romance readers.
All of that to say, that I had really high hopes when I started this book a few days ago. And I really did enjoy the book quite a bit, but there were just a couple of small things that kept it from being a 5-star read for me.
To get this bit out of the way, let’s talk about our characters. I thought that Tilda and Gil were really fun as our leads – they were interesting characters in their own right, and I enjoyed their chemistry together. What can I say – I’m a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers storyline. I also really think that the secondary characters shine in this story, obviously the group of The Misfits that we spend most of the book with, but also some of Tilda’s more colorful family members. (I’m looking at you, Griselda).
The one thing that I will say I didn’t love with this romance was that with enemies-to-lovers, a lot of what typically makes that work is the big conflict or misunderstanding in the two characters’ shared past that makes them both think that they were wronged, and it’s why they’ve hated each other for years, and blah blah blah. We didn’t really get any of that explanation or backstory in this case, and I do feel like I was missing it. It didn’t fully keep me from feeling invested in the relationship or anything that dramatic, but I want to know why you’re so opposed to being together. And we didn’t get that this time around.
Another quirk about this book is that with the dual POV, we also get both of the main characters breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to you as a reader. Think the style of a 90s sitcom, or the main character/narrator in a Disney Channel Original Movie. I think that this bit in particular will be a bit divisive with readers, and already is in some of the reviews that I’ve seen. While this doesn’t seem to have been a favorite for a lot of folks, I actually enjoyed it. I thought it was a fun way to get some of the characters’ (especially Tilda’s) sense of humor, but I can definitely see how this device wouldn’t be for everyone.
I will say though, while on the topic of the dual POVs, that I don’t know that the two characters had different enough voices. Every once in a while I had to flip back to the start of the chapter to remind myself whose head I was inside of, because I couldn’t really tell from the writing. This is something that could still change in the final edit, though, so take that with a grain of salt.
Oh okay, one last thing about the character voices and the writing. They say “fuck” a lot. Like, A LOT. And I am someone that swears pretty freely and frequently, so I definitely don’t mind some adult language in my books. But these characters used this one particular curse word about as frequently as a teenager trying to show how mature and grown up they are by swearing, you know? I don’t mind it being in there, but I think that it could maybe have been dialed back the tiniest bit. Even if only for one of the characters – another opportunity to make the POVs feel separate.
Okay, now on to the last point. The last thing that kept me from really fully loving this book. It felt a bit like the book was confused on what age it was being written for. Like I said earlier, at times it felt almost DCOM-like with the fourth wall breaking narration and some of the sillier shenanigans that the two characters get into together, so there was once or twice that I looked back at the listed genres to see if it was a YA book and I just didn’t remember. But then about halfway through the book the slow-burn romance turns to full on, spicy, sex on the page scenes, that definitely keep the book squarely in the adult column. Again, I enjoyed the comedy that these narrations could provide, and it’s no secret that I’m not afraid of some spicy scenes in my books. But it just felt at times like these two aspects of it were meant for different books, and they just got unceremoniously combined in the editing phase.
Okay one more thing worth noting – this book is downright silly at times with the way the witchy world was built for the reader. We don’t get a ton of traditional world building that you would expect from a full blown fantasy novel, but we do get little glimpses into it. And from what I was able to gather, it is a witchy-version of our current world, where they still watch the Superbowl and Daniel Craig 007 movies, but they use Witchygram instead of Instagram.
All of that being said, I would still overall recommend this book to my friends and fellow readers, and I’m looking forward to the continuation of the series. I don’t think that it’s perfect by any means, but not every book needs to be! It was still a fun, fairly light, quick read. But my words of wisdom would be that if you are going to read it, really lean in to the sillier sides! I think you’ve got to if you’re going to really enjoy it.
About the Author:
When Avery Flynn isn’t writing about alpha heroes and the women who tame them, she is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. She has three slightly wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband, and has a slight shoe addiction. Find out more about Avery on her website, follow her on Twitter, like her on her Facebook page, or friend her on her Facebook profile. Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the internet, she’ll be your best friend for life.
Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.
These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to share these new releases!
In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!
Never Ever Getting Back Together
Author: Sophie Gonzales
Publication Date: November 29, 2022
Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+, Contemporary, Young Adult
Page Count: 384 pages
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book!
Description from Goodreads:
When their now famous ex-boyfriend asks them to participate in a teen reality show, two eighteen year old girls—one bent on revenge, the other open to rekindling romance—get tangled up in an unexpected twist when they fall for each other instead in Never Ever Getting Back Together by nationally and internationally-bestselling and Indie Next Pick author Sophie Gonzales.
It’s been two years since Maya’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart.
Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling.
When Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, they’re whisked away to a beautiful mansion—along with four more of Jordy’s exes— to compete for his affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans: exposing Jordy and getting revenge. As they navigate the competition, Skye and Maya discover that their real happily ever after is nothing they could have scripted.
20% Review:
I read this book in only two sittings, so I didn’t want to put it down long enough to write a 20%! Therefore, we can just assume that I was loving it then, and throughout the rest of the book. But check out my full thoughts at the link below!
Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.
These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to share these new releases!
In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!
If This Gets Out
Author: Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich
Publication date: December 7, 2021
Genre: LGBTQIA+, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book.
Description from Goodreads:
Eighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that he’s feeling smothered by management’s pressure to stay in the closet.
On a whirlwind tour through Europe, with both an unrelenting schedule and minimal supervision, Ruben and Zach come to rely on each other more and more, and their already close friendship evolves into a romance. But when they decide they’re ready to tell their fans and live freely, Zach and Ruben start to truly realize that they will never have the support of their management. How can they hold tight to each other when the whole world seems to want to come between them?
“If This Gets Out is an absolute showstopper! Equal parts edgy and adorable, this bright, joyful book has everything I look for in a queer YA romance.” —Phil Stamper, bestselling author of The Gravity of Us
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
The Ballerinas
Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Publication date: December 7, 2021
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced electronic copy of this book.
Description from Goodreads:
Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.
Fourteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she’s been away…and some secrets can’t stay buried forever.
Moving between the trio’s adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won’t see coming, with magnetic characters you won’t soon forget.
20% Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)
Review:
(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)
I am Arcana
Author: Kristy Nicolle
Publication Date: December 7. 2021
Genre: Poetry
Thanks so much to the author for the gifted advanced copy of this collection.
Description from Goodreads:
THE CARDS KNOW ALL…
From the Author of Award-Winning fantasy romance “simply dripping with poetic justice” comes a debut poetry collection inspired by the enthralling world of tarot.
Divided into the 22 Major Arcana cards of the traditional tarot deck, Kristy Nicolle presents a brand new poetry collection with fresh insight into the multiple interpretations of each legendary icon.
From The High Priestess to The Fool, jump into a lyrical, poetic world of painful truth and natural beauty. A searing indictment of the world we know today, discover how the very mysticism which runs deep through our collective history is relevant now more than ever.
Simple, evocative, and thought-provoking, the world of tarot has never seemed so tangible.
Perfect for poetry fans of Nikita Gill, Julie Anne Addicott, Atticus, and Kate Baer.
20% Review:
Since this is such a short poetry collection, I was able to read it in one sitting and didn’t write a 20% review. But check out my full thoughts at the link below!
Thanks so much to the author, Valentine PR, and Netgalley for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in this blog tour. { partner } All opinions are entirely my own. All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.
From the author of Boyfriend Material and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake comes a cozy mystery that revisits the Golden Age of detective fiction, starring a heroine who’s more podcaster than private eye and topped with a lethal dose of parody — perfect for fans of Clue, Knives Out, and Only Murders in the Building!
When up-and-coming true crime podcaster Liza and her corporate financier wife Hanna head to a luxurious hotel in the Scottish Highlands, they’re hoping for a chance to rekindle their marriage – not to find themselves trapped in the middle of an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery with no way home. But who better to take on the case than someone whose entire profession relies on an obsession with all things mysterious and macabre? Though some of her fellow guests may consider her an interfering new media hack, Liza knows a thing or two about crime and – despite Hanna’s preference for waiting out the chaos behind a locked door – might be the only one capable of discovering the killer. As the bodies rack up and the stakes rise, can they save their marriage — and their lives?
Review (5 Stars) :
Thanks so much to the author, Kobo Books, Netgalley, and Valentine PR for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and participation in the blog tour. All opinions are entirely my own. All of my reviews nd blog tours can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and my blog tacklingtbr.home.blog.
TW: death/murder, description of violence, description of crime scenes
This book was seriously so much fun! I didn’t want to put it down while I was reading, and I was very mad any time I actually had to. Darn work and life getting in the way of my reading!
If you like Clue then you’ll enjoy this book. The big mansion where people keep mysteriously passing away, the kooky and colorful cast of characters, the sense of humor of a serious story that isn’t taking itself too seriously (although we can mostly thank Ruby for that mindset), it really had it all for me. And wrap it all up with an adorable queer couple bow? Yes please.
I will say that I guessed some bits of the ending before we got to it, but there were still some fun surprises for me along the way, so I wasn’t too mad about the few things I saw coming. And I think using Liza’s podcast as the reasoning for the detective work brought a fun, modern twist. Plus, sassy podcaster solving a crime with her adorable wife playing Watson? It was just so much fun.
I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends and family – in fact, my mom has already tried to steal my kindle so that she can read it next! I think that the perfect setting for reading this book would be inside in bed or on the couch under a couple of blankets with snow falling outside. And in honor of Murder Most Actual, the podcast within the book, a glass of wine is a necessity!
Connect with the Author:
Alexis Hall is an English author of urban fantasy, science fiction, and m/m romance. His novels include Murder Most Actual, Boyfriend Material, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, For Real, Glitterland, Iron & Velvet, Looking for Group, and Pansies.
His work has been nominated for to the 26th Lambda Literary Awards, 28th Lambda Literary Awards, and 29th Lambda Literary Awards in the category of Gay Romance.
Blog Tour Stop: Kate Rock Book Tours Courtesy of Lone Mountain Press
Thanks so much to the author, Kate Rock Book Tours and Lone Mountain Press for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts, and participation in this blog tour. { partner }
BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS :
Will a city girl forced to spend the holidays in her small hometown recapture the magic of the season?
Madison hasn’t visited Silver Falls since she left the snowy mountain winters behind for the beaches of California twenty years ago. In the midst of the annual Christmas festival, an accident forces her to return and manage her mom’s candy business at the Sugar Shop.
Grant hasn’t seen her since she left for college, but he remembers spending summers at the lake with the skinny, plain girl he and everyone used to know as Sugar. The contemporary advertising executive he encounters now is anything but plain. Will Grant’s kindness, the charm of Silver Falls, and the caring community open Sugar’s heart to all she’s been missing?
The best-selling author of A Season for Hope, the tale readers described as the perfect Christmas story, delivers a touching sequel with the second in her Christmas in Silver Falls series in this new festive novella that pairs perfectly with a cup of cocoa in front of a blazing fire.
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW (4 STARS) :
Anyone who knows basically anything about me, or has spoken to me even once, knows that I love the Christmas season and all slightly or fully-cheesy holiday romcoms. Even if you just saw me on the street and someone said “That’s Jennifer, and she loves Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies,” you would probably look at me and say “Yeah, that checks out.” I am the girl that put on my Christmas pajamas as soon as the last trick or treaters had left our porch (I wish I was kidding about that. I did.)
So when this tour came up, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it. Holiday magic? Sweet love story? Easy, quick read novella? Yes please! And I will say that this is a second in a series (mentioned in the description above). I was also given a copy of the first story, A Season for Hope, in order to read it before this tour as well, so I was able to read both! I will include an amazon link for both novellas below, in case you do want to read both stories – but I will not be including the first in this review, as while they are in the same series and they both have the same beautiful setting, they follow two separate characters and therefore are stand-alone stories. Just FYI!
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to this review! This story was so charming! By the time I was a few chapters in, I knew that if possible I would move to Silver Falls in a heartbeat. If you are someone who has seen Gilmore Girls, Silver Falls is like Stars Hollow but a step up still. It is a small town where everyone is willing to step in and help anyone around them who needs it, and where everybody in town knows everybody else, and you can’t walk down the street without someone stopping you to say hello and ask how you are. I love those settings in stories, because I think deep in my soul that is the type of town that I would belong in.
The characters are also so sweet and genuine, and while sometimes they seem sweet enough to give you a cavity, overall they seem like people that you could really meet in a town like this. I do think, though, that our female lead Madison (better known to all as Sugar) is the most realistic and relatable character in this particular novella. I think everyone can relate to trying (and failing) to get rid of a childhood nickname, and being in a time in your life that you want to escape your hometown and go have adventures. But I also love that she is able to come back home and still see the magic in the relationships around her, and getting to see in the long run that she still has that small town magic and love inside of herself as well.
I will say that this probably wouldn’t be a perfect story for everyone for a few specific reasons. Mainly because this is a love story and, as it is a novella rather than a full length novel, the love story is not as long and fully realized as it would be in a different format. The two leads spend a lot of time together throughout the story, so it isn’t a Disney princess love at first sight situation, but you don’t blatantly see them falling in love over the course of ten chapters before the happily ever after. As someone who, again, watches just about one holiday romcom per day in the holiday season, this didn’t necessarily bother me. The two characters knew each other from childhood, so even at the beginning of the novella they knew each other, they weren’t meeting for the first time. And there isn’t anything about them as characters that makes them falling in love quickly seem unrealistic – it is something that can happen in real life too, as long as both of the people involved are open to that possibility. These are two adults, I believe they are both in their thirties, who knew each other from childhood through high school graduation, and I think that if this situation were to happen in the real world, I think that they honestly could fall in love in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a romantic time!
All of this to say, if you are bothered by love stories that happen quickly or that you, as the reader, aren’t fully privy to, then this may not be the story for you. But I, myself, thought that the love story was really sweet and fit the format that the story was in, so it didn’t bother me in the slightest.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed both of these stories, and would recommend them to the people around me who are ready to skip right to the holiday season. And as stated above, both are able to stand alone and reading them both in order is not necessary to enjoy the story, I did enjoy both of them quite a bit. So if you’re up for it, then go for it! Read them both! I ended up reading these right as our Texas weather was starting to take a turn for the cooler temperatures, and it really helped me by setting the mood. The description on Goodreads really says it best, and I couldn’t agree more – they pair perfectly with a cup of cocoa in front of a blazing fire!
Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some.
As soon as I read the short synopsis of this book pre-publication I knew that I would enjoy it, but I assumed that it would be just a cute and heartwarming rom-com-type of story, including an LGBTQ+ storyline and lead characters – which is something that I definitely appreciate and feel is needed in this day and age. However, what I got was so, so much more.
While this is in fact a romantic comedy first and foremost, there is so much more to the story and to the characters. And the main ingredient is just this – heart. Bunches of it. All of the characters are really charming, and while our male leads are both incredibly likeable and sweet and I want to double date with them every weekend, I must say that in my personal opinion some of the spunky female characters really stole the show for me, namely the three sister characters that round out the group of young royals, June, Nora, and Beatrice. All three of these young women are exactly the kinds of women that I love to read about – they are incredibly smart and well educated women, who are quick-witted and sassy and not afraid to say exactly what is on their minds. And while I obviously loved the main plot with our two handsome lovebirds, quite a few (if not most) of my favorite scenes throughout the book included some combination of these three and the guys. Also, definitely needing a mention when talking about strong female characters, is Alex’s mother, who happens to be the President of the United States. She, like the younger women, is obviously very smart and successful in her chosen field, and finds strength in her family time and puts the job of being a mother as high as the job of POTUS – a trait I love and highly admire in anyone (real or fiction), and I loved that the nation didn’t try to see this as a weakness in her, but they knew that it was a strength too. Without getting too political, it was both amazing and depressing to glimpse this alternate reality of the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election where instead the US walked away with a President that is not only a woman of color, but a mother in a bi-racial family who is equally celebrated for that role. It was amazing to see that maybe one day that can be possible, and for the sake of myself and the rest of nation, I hope it’s soon.
Now back to our male leads. Both Alex and Henry are fun and charming characters separately, but where they really shine is together. But all of the best relationships are that way, aren’t they? I am a woman in a heterosexual relationship, so I am not a person who has the knowledge, experience, or right to say how representative this story is of these types of relationships in real life. But what I can say is this – I loved the story of their relationship, and their emails back and forth to each other made me melt, and in my opinion it seemed to be written very well and from a place of love and respect. I would read an entire series about these two and the version of the world that they get to live in.
All of that being said, wow I really loved this book. I would recommend it to any of my friends, and already have on multiple occasions. As I stated, it is full of so much heart that I found it impossible not to laugh and cry and smile along with all of the people who fill its pages. I already plan on rereading it, making my fiancé and all of my friends read it, and watching the movie as soon as it has been made and released.
Thanks so much to Berkley and the author for this advanced, gifted copy in exchange for my honest review! All opinions are completely my own.
I am a girl that loves a rom-com, and I always have been, much to the dismay of some of my friends and exes that wanted to watch just about anything else. Anytime John Cusack is below a window with a boombox, or I hear the words “You had me at ‘hello,'” or just about anything else from this genere of film I laugh and cry and melt in any way you can think of.
So I relate to our heroine Annie a ton in that way – I grew up with these types of movies, and they provided me with some sort of sweet and hopeful idea of love and romance. So while some of her ways of showing it were a bit silly, I found her very adorable and relatable as a character. Her journey isn’t perfect, either in love or in life, but that made it all the more worth while. And I wanted to jump right into my old yoga pants and slightly inappropriate pizza-themed shirt and watch a movie marathon with she and her best friend Chloe.
I tend to be drawn towards character driven stories in general as well, as anyone who knows me could tell you, so this story checked a lot of my boxes. Other than our female lead Annie there are a ton of other really fun characters as well, and each is charming and awkward in equal measures in their own ways. No character is put up as the perfect person or a perfect character, although our male lead and Tom Hanks stand in Drew Danforth comes the closest, which I always appreciate. While it can be fun to read about very aspirational people and situations, I tend to think it is way more fun and interesting to read about flawed but kind people, people that in theory you could have grown up down the street from. And while I don’t expect this exact story will happen down the street from me any time soon, I feel like the characters in this book fit nicely into that category.
Also, talking about this book without talking about all of the classic rom-com cliches would be doing the story and the author a disservice. Now again, I love a good rom-com. Heck. I even love a BAD rom-com. Just ask my fiance. So, personally, I ate them all up in one bite. And this story has them all. The meet-cute (including a definition, for anyone who may be reading and is unfamiliar with the term), the love-triangle, the blind dates, even running through an airport with a motivational song supposedly playing loudly in the background. And since our lead, Annie, is an aspiring screenwriter, we get to see all of these from a very fun perspective – both her hopefullness for true love and her technical eye knowing full well that these are plot devices, and often writing them out in her head before they happen in her life.
This story was sweet, and charming, and made me laugh multiple times and make my fiance read the passages so that he would know what I was laughing about. This gave me all of the fuzzy feelings and moments that I want out of my favorite movies, and I really enjoyed getting to escape onto this movie set in the middle of Columbus, and getting lost in the hope and silliness of the hopeless romantic. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves these movies, and just wants something fun to read where you know it’ll all end in some sort of a happily ever after.
Now please excuse me while I go and marathon You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and every other romantic comedy that I can get my hands on. Someone get me a bowl of popcorn and a very large glass of wine!
Tackling TBR 