Paige is on the next part of her whirlwind journey, this time starting in Rome. She comes across some entertaining characters, and old friends, and thPaige is on the next part of her whirlwind journey, this time starting in Rome. She comes across some entertaining characters, and old friends, and the entire time is torn between her interest in two men she just can't seem to fully choose between. She's edging her way towards the end of the year, and still hasn't fulfilled her resolution, but she's realizing she may just be fulfilled in other ways enough.
This was a great conclusion to the Paige Turner series as a whole. Paige has fully come into her own, is still taking risks, and letting herself develop meaningful friendships and relationships as the year progresses. Her professional life is satisfying, her friends are all coupling up, and she's getting the chance to get close to Max as a friend, while they message regularly each day.
There were only a few moments that pulled me out of this novel. I genuinely love the tongue-in-cheek nature of the book, but as a Canadian, falling back on a character saying "Surry aboot that" twice had me cringe. It'd be different if the author said he smelled like maple syrup or something, but using an overdone and false stereotype about how Canadians talk did have me rolling my eyes, and not in a fun way. The only other part that pulled me out was the home-town Christmas romance section about saving the local bookstore. I genuinely was hoping we'd get a section of Paige in her hometown, due to knowing that she grew up on a Christmas tree farm, as the setup was just way too good. Unfortunately that part of the book felt oddly rushed compared to the rest of the book. Especially with how her and Max's relationship slowly develops. It felt like he was tossed into the mania, and we ripped into a new phase of the relationship at a rapid pace.
From there it does recover though, and end off on a high! The ending reveal was amazing and fun and looking back I should have seen it. I love that I didn't and it ended up being the perfect trope reveal to pull the entire series together. I'm not a book re-reader but I genuinely want to reread the first two books to see the clues I missed that time around as we came to the conclusion. Also love that the author worked in some fun new book tropes, especially the masked man, the sports romance, and MC club romance. I was cackling through most of the Rome section at the start of the novel, even with a few moments of repetitive language missed.
All in all, this was such a fun series. It was hilarious to see a strong, brazen character living through her book tropes and finding love, and I truly hope the author writes more cheeky books like this.
Thank you to The Author Agency for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ...more
Melody returns to her small hometown after her boyfriend of six years breaks up with her out of the blue. She's adrift and devoid of feelings until shMelody returns to her small hometown after her boyfriend of six years breaks up with her out of the blue. She's adrift and devoid of feelings until she's confronted again with the man who broke her heart ten years ago. Slowly but surely, she begins to piece together the trauma her previous boyfriend inflicted on her while working through if she can ever heal enough to trust her own judgment again.
I did not expect to love these characters as much as I did. I'm not normally one for a heavily cheesy man, but somehow, the dialogue raked through some incredibly sweet and sappy sentiments without making me want to toss my phone at a wall. Zac was soft, endlessly devoted, and hopessly optimistic in regards to her. Melody contrasted that by being dry, sarcastic, pessimistic and overly cautious around him. It was the perfect blend to ensure even the softer scenes didn't end up feeling saccharine, and ample levity was brought into heavier moments.
Their slow, slow burn was enjoyable and didn't affect the overall pacing as we got so much growth for Melody. Watching her recover from the mental agony she'd lived through, and seeing Zac do it in such a way that always put her first was satisfying to no end.
The only real area that stuttered a bit for me was the entire decade of silence. I couldn't help wishing the author had tightened up those timelines or had moments where they crossed paths inbetween to bring up tension or missed opportunities. It felt too unrealistic to have that huge gap, that it did pull me out of the story at times.
Still, this was such a warm read, and I'll absolutely be grabbing anything this author writes in the future. If you're looking for The Notebook vibes with a steady, devoted MMC, and mouthy FMC, grab this one ASAP!
Thank you, NetGalley, and Atria Books for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
Maeve has finally gotten the dream podcast streaming platform she's always wanted, but there's a catch. She has to do it with her best friend, the manMaeve has finally gotten the dream podcast streaming platform she's always wanted, but there's a catch. She has to do it with her best friend, the man she loves, the man who knows her like the back of his hand... the man who tossed her aside for a famous model after a single month. Finn is desperate to get back into Maeve's good graces. He realized he threw away the best friend he's ever had, and this is his only shot to get her back. However, she isn't willing to hear it, and he's struggling to find out how he can make amends and bring them back to what they used to have.
It was clear what the author wanted to do with this book and the messages and genuine interactions and growth she wanted to portray. Unfortunately, it got bogged down in endless, detailed therapy sessions and examples of how to communicate and make amends, all while both leads were failing to properly do either. The entire book was a massive miscommunication trope where Maeve let her anxiety and intrusive thoughts run the show. She was cold, dismissive, and constantly jumping to conclusions and putting up walls and barriers despite being a therapist and going to therapy for over a decade herself. Finn is a nepo baby who is also Just A Man (TM) so much so that he can't fathom why he'd get pushed off and given a cold shoulder for asking the girl he was with, if he could be with someone else, while already on a date with the other person.
I was baffled as to why either of them wanted to try to be together when they were in a constant cycle of hurt and repair, to the point we received two second act breakups in this book. In the end, the conflict is overly contrived and pointless, and forming an entire book around it with the underlying message of woman empowerment and gender inequality just ended up with the latter message being missed in the slog.
The authors writing itself is good, but this book missed the mark. I look forward to seeing what else she writes.
Thank you, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Griffin, for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
Himari and Kevin have been existing comfortably as henchmen and sidekick to their villain and hero for years. However, they're made to step into the sHimari and Kevin have been existing comfortably as henchmen and sidekick to their villain and hero for years. However, they're made to step into the spotlight and take over as pretend villain and henchmen to try to take down the Shadow Assassins. Together, they bond with a very friendly Midwestern villain as they try to uncover the organizations plan for world domination.
This is my first time reading a chat-fiction novel, and I was impressed with how fast it moved! 400 pages flew by in a couple of hours, and it made the book an interesting read, despite the sometimes odd format of each character having brain access to the other depending on when their "tech" was on.
The characters were quirky and goofy, and the comic relief was constant. The only part that felt out of leftfield was the relationship and feelings growing between the two leads. Sure, they both have slip ups where they think about liking the other, but it's all tell and not show, so that fell really flat between them. As someone who read this book as an ARC, without reading the first, I'd recommended definitely reading the first as you miss a lot of world building, existing relationships and past history right out of the gates.
Otherwise, this was silly, odd, and entertaining. If you're in the mood for a book that doesn't require you to think too hard and you want an easy laugh, this one is perfect.
Thank you, BookSirens, and both authors, for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
This was a hard one to get through. The author had a decent idea, but the execution of it was exacerbating. The entire book was an overwhelming amountThis was a hard one to get through. The author had a decent idea, but the execution of it was exacerbating. The entire book was an overwhelming amount of description, inner monologue, and imaginary conversations and inferences from eye contact. Paragraphs upon paragraphs of painstaking detail, to the point I had to wonder if the author assumed their readers can't parse out information, or infer basic comprehension of how people interact and how the world works. I don't think we need a paragraph describing that carrying a suitcase over creaky floors makes it creak more, or putting the suitcase back down and walking back over the floor makes it creak less. Or mentioning at least four times that the makeup artist who did her makeup was so good that the makeup didn't need to be freshened up. It was constant, unimportant word-vomit to extend the story uselessly to the point of being painfully boring. She even took time to, in detail, describe the path of her eyeballs when looking at the MMC multiple times. Including walking through one by one how her eyes move up each part of his body, and then describing those parts of his body and how she felt about them in excruciatingly annoying detail.
Also, neither of the characters were likeable. The FMC was thoughtless towards her friend, judging her for drinking at her bachelorette party and being a huge pick-me. She also was constantly snarking and scoffing in her dialogue. The MMC was inconsiderate to the point of removing her from her best friends wedding as the maid of honour during the reception and refusing to tell her anything about his life. He also sneers, scoffs, and snickers at her constantly. It makes him come across as demeaning, rude, and dismissive in times when he's supposed to be head over heels for her. Also, he smirks in 99% of all interactions, usually after scoffing or sneering. It's infuriating.
Then we get to the intimacy. It was, in a word, gross. I didn't think "moist interior" would ever be a term someone would choose to use in a spicy scene, but I've now been proven wrong. I gritted my teeth and sped-read through that scene, which took over a dozen pages just to take their clothes off, and a few thrusts a handful of pages later they "reached their pinnacle" together. I would have honestly preferred for there to be closed door spice if this is the comfort level the author has with writing intimacy. Â
The plot itself was ruined early on with a chapter when she's 5 years old clearly laying out who is who then and now. Then we get a third act breakup you could see from a mile away, a laughably convenient twist that had me rolling my eyes. Then, a rapid conclusion that gave me whiplash and I think was the most words the MMC said to the FMC in a single page. At that point, I was just glad it was over.
All in all, this book was not worth the time I spent reading it....more
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