Contemporary

Book review

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“Love follows you. It goes where you go. It doesn’t know about social divides or distance or common sense. It doesn’t even stop when the person you love dies. It does what it wants.”

Part Of Your World follows Alexis and Daniel, two people who couldn’t be more different on a journey of love, hope, and finding true happiness within yourself and with others. Working as a ER doctor, Alexis is perfectly content with how her life is now even though her ultra rich parents want her to carry on the family legacy of being world renowned surgeons and while she doesn’t want to disappoint them, she knows that it will be inevitable. But, her life changes in ways that she couldn’t have expected when she meets Daniel Grant and the more time she spends with him, the more she is learning to let go and enjoy being present in the now. But, she knows the longer this goes on the more she will have to make a very important decision? True happiness or sacrificing her new found love for what her family expects from her.

What a beautifully written story about hope, love, and finding true happiness in yourself and others. I really enjoyed this book even if it did hit home at times because of Alexis’s trauma and relationship with her parents which I despised the more I read about them. I think what I found myself feeling for Alexis so much is because of how her parents treated her and it was really great to see her grow into a more confident, assertive, and self-assured young woman by the end. The relationship she has with her parents was difficult to get through because it reminded of my own issues with my mom. I really felt for her and I was glad that she had Daniel, I found their romance very real and steamy. The book flowed really well together with heavy and light moments, it felt very relatable to many issues that people are facing right now. In the end, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.

JULY TBR

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Hey everyone! I’m excited to share all my choices with you! This is gonna be a good month!

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Non-Fiction

The Donut Enemy by Sarah Adams
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Float Plan by Trish Coller
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction

The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

No Rings Attached by Rachel Lacey
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Mythology

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Book review: Book Lovers

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“That’s the thing about women. There’s no good way to be one. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and you’re hysterical. Keep them tucked away where your boyfriend doesn’t have to tend to them and you’re a heartless bitch.”

Nora Stephens has the best life ever and all of it involves books and while she doesn’t think of herself as a heroine like the ones in the books, her clients would beg to differ. When she’s not reading books, she’s scoring enormous deals for her literary clients including her sister, Libby. When her sister comes to her with an idea to head out of town for awhile, Nora takes it up without even a second chance and before long she finds herself in a different kind of adventure. Once established in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, she is ready to relax and unwind but life has other plans as she is finding herself thrown together with Charlie Lastra, a brooding book editor from back in the city and the two are less than happy about it. But, the more time the spend the more they begin to realize that they might not be so different at all.

This was a fun ride from beginning to end! I have been a fan of Emily Henry’s books for awhile now and although I still have issues with Beach Read but I won’t go into that. I did this reading with a friend and that was a lot of fun as I found it enjoyable reading this with someone else. Buddy reads don’t always go so well but this one did so I was glad that I was able to have that this time. I found the plot very interesting and Emily really does a good job with creating complicated and flawed characters that seem so real you feel like you know them. The tropes were brilliantly done and the dynamics between Nora and Charlie were fantastic! All in all, a very fun and entertaining read!

Book Review

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So, you’re Cat’s new pet, huh?”

After a difficult year at NYU, aspiring writer Lora Ricci feels like things are starting to turn around when she lands an summer internship with Elle, a famous fashion magazine. Upon her arrival, she meets Cat Wolff, the contributing editor and soon Lora finds herself spending more and more time with Cat. Their friendship over the course of the internship leads to Lora dropping out of NYC to be Cat’s ghostwriter and Lora feels like all this is good to be true but at the same time she’s willing to make the move. But, Lora begins to wonder if she made the wrong choice as Cat’s perfect exterior begins to crack leaving Lora to question who she really is.

This was such a wild ride and I love how it unfolded from beginning to end. I found the way of using text messages, emails, phone calls transcripts as a way to tell the story was very interesting. It did take some time to get used to that because most books aren’t done that way but I did like it for the most part. The plot was super interesting and I did find it hard to put the book down because I had to find out what happened next. As for the characters, I found Lora and Cat very interesting and the dynamics between felt very real and although Cat did some very dumb things, I did feel for her at times. All in all, I enjoyed it and if you’re looking for a good mystery thriller, this is it!

BOOk Review

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“It occurred to Delilah that this was probably the longest she’d ever really looked at her stepsister. She’d spent years perfecting the art of avoidance, of protection, of never letting Astrid see how much Delilah was hurting. If eyes were the window into the soul, Delilah’s had long been shuttered.”

If Delilah Greene had it her way, she would never go back to that dreadful city that is Bright Falls where her distant and cold step family are and memories of a childhood that she never had. Her life is in New York City where she is making herself out to be a skilled photographer and while she does want a relationship, being with a different girl each night is fine with her. Until the day she gets a phone call from her estranged sister, Astrid who ends up guilt tripping Deliliah into coming home for wedding and although she wants to say no, the five-figure check would be nice to have. Delilah ends up going but is not going to enjoy it. Or so she thinks.

This was an emotionally packed roller coaster from beginning to end and also hit me really hard as I related to Delilah’s heartache and pain from how her cold and distant family treated her. I really felt for her and found her to be a very real and relatable character and not just because of her trauma. In addition to that, I did enjoy seeing her relationship with her stepsister Astrid get better as things were discovered that the two girls didn’t know and ended up becoming closer because of it. Although, I wasn’t a fan of one of Astrid’s friends, Iris who was flat out a bully and treated Delilah like a child and I found myself speed reading whenever she was present. On the other hand, Delilah does become close with Clarie and I found their chemistry very real and loved the dynamics between them! Overall, an enjoyable book with a few bumps in the road but I highly recommend it.

Book review

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“Maps are love letters written to times and places their makers had explored.”

For as long as Neil Young can remember cartography has long been her passion and it’s one she shared with her father, Dr. Daniel Young who is a legend in the field and Neil’s personal hero. But, the pair had a nasty falling out due to an old map that she had found and haven’t spoken since he fired her and destroyed her reputation. When Neil hears the tragic news that her father was murdered, she soon finds that out that map that drove them apart is incredibly rare and even if old wounds resurface, Neil knows it’s her duty to find out what happened to her father.

Finally got around to reading this and I’m glad that I did. While it did take sometime to get into story, I did enjoy the plot, characters, and how it developed until the end. I didn’t even really know what Cartography was in depth before this book and it actually made me more interested in it. The way that Shepard weaves into the writing added to the plot and it was very interesting to learn and read more about. What really made me invested into the book were the characters and the writing as I found it engaging and each character were well written with flaws, quirks, and I did enjoy the dynamics with each character. Overall, it was a very good read!

Book Review: Set On You

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(Quote to be added)

Crystal Chen has spend the majority of her life proving people wrong and learning to embrace who she is without changing for anyone else. She has built up a incredible fitness career shattering stereotypes and promoting body positivity as a curvy fitness influencer. Reeling from a recent breakup, she is ready to prove thats he doesn’t need anyone than herself but things become complicated with a new man walks into her life, Scott Ritchie, a firefighter who is looking to get back into shape. The two are at odds at first but the more they get to know one another, the more sparks begin to fly leaving Crystal to wonder if second chances are worth it.

This was such a fun and super cute debut! First off, I’m glad that Crystal was plus sized because there isn’t enough rep in books especially romance. It was nice to see and Crystal won me over as I felt her personality and how she presented herself were endearing and empowering. She very much owned who she is and fully embraced that which is always very relevant as there are so many people who struggle with feeling secure and confident in who they are. I enjoyed reading about her journey of being a fitness influencer and how she and Scott first started out as enemies turned lovers. This is one of my favorite and it was really well done here. The romance was very believable and I was rooting for both of them throughout the entire book, they were so cute with each other! All in all, it was a great book to read!

BOOK review: The Map of Salt and Stars

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“Stories are powerful, but gather too many of the words of others in your heart and they will drown out your own. Remember that.”

The Map of Salt and Stars tells the stories of Nour and Rawaya, two refugees who share similar paths even if years apart from one another. Having lost her father, Nour can’t imagine her life getting any worse but all that changes when her mother decides to move them from NYC to Syria so they can be closer to friends. But, the country that her mother once knew has changed and before they know it, they’re caught up in an ongoing war and soon their home is destroyed leaving them in a bind. They can either stay or flee with other refugees across parts of North Africa and the Middle East in search of safety. Nearly a thousand years earlier, Rawaya is a young sixteen year old who is running out of options to help her impoverished mother and while she doesn’t want to leave her mother, she knows it’s the only choice in order to give her a better life. Disguising herself as a boy, she eventually finds herself thrown into an epic journey across North African and the Middle East as an apprentice, for Al-Idrisi who has been commissioned by King Roger II of Italy to create a map of the world.

This is one of those stories where you may not want to read it but you need to read it as it was incredibly moving, powerful, heartbreaking while informative and educational. Not everyone will want to read this book simply because of the content discussed throughout the book as this is a very sensitive topic and one that can cause lots of discourse. The stories of Nour and Rawaya were moving, sad, and inspiring at the same time as the two both showed courage, resilience, and unwavering hope that kept them going even when they felt like they couldn’t. While reading this, it made me feel humbled that I have such privileges that I do and I will always have those and the struggles that I face seem so simple compared to what others face.

Along with this important content, The Map of Salt and Stars is also beautifully written so I highly recommend cheeking this out even if it’snot your usual genre because I think everyone needs to be more aware of this issue.

Book Review: Kamila KNows Best

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“Shit. Was there supposed to be a Breakfast At Tiffany’s theme tonight?”

Kamila Hussain lives a life of comfort. She is the go friend for advice especially with love, has a supportive network full of friends and family that care for her, access to all the bollywood parties that she wants, and a dog with that has more followers on Instagram than most people do. While she spends more time giving her friends advice on love, she can’t be bothered to think of her own love life. But, when she hears of an old rival who has eyes for her longtime friend, Rohan who has been a rock for her throughout her life, she can’t bear losing him to someone else. The more Kamila tries to plan, the more things start falling apart and if Kamila doesn’t think of something quick, she may lose the one person who means the most to her.

I absolutely love Austen retellings as she’s one of my favorite authors so this book was a real treat! It was such a fun and heartwarming tale and I found all the characters especially Kamila and Rohan to be unique and flawed in their own ways. I could definitely feel the chemistry between them so that was good because there’s nothing worse than when it’s not developed or seems forced. Another thing that I liked is that even if there wasn’t a romance factor, the two were very unique on their own with interesting backstories and their dynamics were very fleshed out. I apprenticed the focus that Heron did on Kamila’s work life and how she felt so much pressure due to her culture and being the woman that she wanted to be. That is something that rang true for me so I felt for her and I appreciated that focus because I think there are times where authors focus too much on the romance and not enough on the heroine and it’s important that stories don’t put so much focus on the romance and being your own person in addition to be in a relationship. This was a very fun book so I highly recommend that you check it out!