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bookstolivewith's reviews
327 reviews
Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
In Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane, Eve has been in love with her friend Ed forever — and he has no idea, as far as she knows. But when he gets engaged to his long-time girlfriend and her very best friend’s secrets are suddenly revealed, Eve’s life seems to be crumbling around her and it may be more than she can handle.
Wow, okay, so I was not sure I was going to like this one based on the prologue and first few chapters, because it seemed like unrequited love gone wrong, but damn it hooked me! There are two impeccably done twists that I had completely not anticipated and were absolute game-changers as far as my enjoyment of the overall book.
I totally couldn’t predict the plot’s progress and that’s so enjoyable for a romance, since many of them are formulaic. It is, I think, a little purposefully mis-marketed since the little blurb didn’t really prepare me at all for what I was getting — but thankfully, I enjoyed what I got much more!
There is a lot of grief in this book, so there are some heavy moments to handle in between the funner bits, especially when dealing with the (spoiler alert!) death aspect of the book. The complexities of friendship and romantic love presented between Eve and her friends remind me a bit of The Holiday, when Kate Winslet is pining and then finally manages to get her head out of her arse.
Overall, I just liked it! It made me grin and I wanted to read it, which given my recent reading slump is truly high praise. I’d recommend this one if you are looking for a slightly sardonic and heavier romance read!
Wow, okay, so I was not sure I was going to like this one based on the prologue and first few chapters, because it seemed like unrequited love gone wrong, but damn it hooked me! There are two impeccably done twists that I had completely not anticipated and were absolute game-changers as far as my enjoyment of the overall book.
I totally couldn’t predict the plot’s progress and that’s so enjoyable for a romance, since many of them are formulaic. It is, I think, a little purposefully mis-marketed since the little blurb didn’t really prepare me at all for what I was getting — but thankfully, I enjoyed what I got much more!
There is a lot of grief in this book, so there are some heavy moments to handle in between the funner bits, especially when dealing with the (spoiler alert!) death aspect of the book. The complexities of friendship and romantic love presented between Eve and her friends remind me a bit of The Holiday, when Kate Winslet is pining and then finally manages to get her head out of her arse.
Overall, I just liked it! It made me grin and I wanted to read it, which given my recent reading slump is truly high praise. I’d recommend this one if you are looking for a slightly sardonic and heavier romance read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I found a new book boyfriend! (And yes, he is, yet again, too young for me unfortunately.) Thank you to @netgalley for this e-ARC of The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt.
Synopsis: Adelaide Jepsen lives a double life. One with her family in Michigan as AJ and one with her family in Florida as Della. No one ever said having divorced parents was easy. But as she approaches college, AJ is tired — of lying, of pretending to keep up appearances and of herself. Florida is where she can get her world right again before her senior year of high school — so why is everything falling apart the second she shows up? (TW: divorce, teen pregnancy, alcoholism)
This is a great, joyful YA novel about finding the real you as a teenager and learning to make yourself happy instead of making others happy while you’re miserable. Also, the sister trio/quads that pop-up throughout had Covey sister vibes. On top of that, there’s a super sweet pseudo-enemies-to-lovers relationship with a soon-to-be-crowned all time book boyfriend, Jude, who I swear had me in butterflies and giggles.
The downsides are that it’s a bit over dramatic, as high schoolers are widely known to be, and a little too faith-based for me. There’s a lot of prayer circles, preaching moments and there are some scenes that felt a bit pro-life to me, which I’m not really about. However, it’s not a cruel faith in any context, so it’s manageable.
If you’re a fan of YA novels in general, I think is a very readable one and pretty cute overall! It’s out in early April so keep your eyes peeled!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Death of parent
Just Like in the Movies by Heidi Rice
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Synopsis: Ruby Graham just lost her best friend in the world — who also happened to bequeath her a half share of the movie theatre they ran together. The other half was left to his real estate developer nephew, Luke Devlin, who couldn’t care less about movies if he tried. So when the theatre turns out to be in massive debt, will Ruby be able to convince Luke to step in and help, or will her safe-haven come tumbling down around her?
It’s a plot worthy of a Hallmark movie and I was totally on board at the beginning. Ruby, while overly optimistic and constantly at an emotional threshold, has gumption, and Luke, for all his grumpiness, obviously has a soft heart. So they’re quite lovable and they have some steamy sex scenes between them.
BUT the writing. Or editing. Or something went wrong between conception and execution. It was a slog to get though this book, even though it should have been easy. There were scenes that just felt like same pieces of thought were just being repeated over and over for no reason other than to take up page length, or where characters seemed to have made two entirely different decisions about their lives back-to-back. Ultimately, I felt that the writing was poor. There was a lot of telling and less showing.
I also felt like the character development was lopsided with a lot of attention and care being given to Luke’s backstory (TW: suicide, death, sexual assault/sexual encounter seen by a minor) but Ruby’s equally fraught background was only alluded to and never resolved or confronted.
For me, this was, at best, a library read. Maybe since this was an ARC, there’s more editing to come, which I think would seriously help. The plot and characters have promise, especially if you’re a huge movie buff, but it just didn’t work as I wanted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Mr Right Across the Street by Kathryn Freeman
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Synopsis: Mia has made a very deliberate move to Manchester — away from her family, friends and creepy ex-boyfriend (TW: emotional abuse and stalking). As a website designer who works from home, she’s struggling to meet people. That is, until she ventures into the bar below her flat and has an instant connection with the bartender, Luke, who also just happens to live in the apartment across from hers. Only issue: he’s definitely a player and she’s had enough of bad boyfriends that she’s determined to avoid this mistake. But what are you going to do when raw attraction demands otherwise?
Okay I thought I wasn’t going to like this one because at first it seemed really cliche at first, like “nerd girl and hot guy actually are attracted to each other” cliche. BUT there was a twist I did not expect and should’ve seen coming, and it meant that I enjoyed the last 60% of the book so much more than the first few set-up chapters.
Mia & Luke’s relationship is funny, flirty and eventually, flaming hot! Like whew some of these scenes — it’s not 100% explicit but it’s well on its way. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and while I did find the back-and-forth of “Do they trust each other?” a little tedious at points, it made sense based on both of their previous rocky relationships.
Overall, Mr. Right Across The Street was a great, fun read! I finished it in less than 24 hours and could not put it down. I’m excited to see what Freeman writes next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
TW: Stalking
Five Ways to Fall Out of Love by Emily Martin
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Synopsis: Aubrey Cash has never understood why her relationship with Webster Casey, her next door neighbor, went from friends to enemies in the span of one night. But she’s honestly tired of trying to figure it out. Between that rivalry, making college decisions with her BFF and her parents’ constant fighting, Aubrey is ready to give up on relationships. But she’s a scientist at heart — and when there’s a scientific formula that she can use to prove love doesn’t exist, she has to do what any scientist does: collect evidence. But will her love experiment leave her heartbroken in the process?
I found this to be an okay YA read that I finished in about 48 hours. Aubrey is a little angsty and tiny bit overdramatic in my opinion, although she’s dealing with a lot more than I ever did in high school and I’m arguably under-dramatic. It was sometimes difficult to sift through to the meat of the plot and the character development because everything was very crowded by her internal thoughts and diatribes, which were very adult for a high schooler. I also felt like everything wrapped up way too quickly and I wanted to have more closure at the end.
However, it was still a fun read, with a few butterfly inducing moments — I will never get over a secretly protective trope, sorry bout it — and some steamy-for-high-school scenes. Webster is also a bisexual love interest, which I haven’t seen before in a YA novel so that was cool! (There’s actually some addressing of anti-bi comments and mindsets, so head’s up on that — nothing major or particularly heavy but it’s there.)
Overall, Five Ways To Fall Out Of Love was a solid weekend read! I’d probably say get this one from the library, unless you really love all YA.
Content Warnings
Minor: Biphobia
Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Alex & Eliza, the first in a trilogy by Melissa de la Cruz, is a sweet and fun middle-grade read for the Hamilton fans in your life. It was actually inspired by de la Cruz’s daughter, who after seeing Hamilton the musical had a lot of questions about Eliza — her life, her relationships, her thoughts, etc.
Eliza is definitely the main character here, and it’s somewhat refreshing to read the story from her perspective since the musical is clearly dominated by Alex’s narration. This book also contains more historically accurate information as to their courtship, the war and all that jazz.
However, being historical doesn’t necessarily make it better. I think this book relies pretty heavily on the idea that you are intimately familiar with the musical, as there are a lot of jumps between points of view and time lines and there’s ton of references to Hamilton songs. So you get some depth but not enough, and you get some history but it’s presented in a jarring way that took me out of the overall love story — because that’s what the book is about at it’s core: their courtship.
Also, Angelica is kind of a bitch and not in like the fun way. She’s mean, and I’m not sure I love that — although I do love that she’s not flirting with Hamilton every 10 seconds, since de la Cruz took a different historical interpretation.
So while this was fun and light with a couple swoon-worthy moments (as any romance set during a time period of restraint necessitates), ultimately, I don’t feel the need to read the next two in the series. If anything, I’d get them from the library!
However these could be good holiday gifts to the middle grade readers in your life, as I think a lot of my “issues” with the book come from an adult perspective.
Eliza is definitely the main character here, and it’s somewhat refreshing to read the story from her perspective since the musical is clearly dominated by Alex’s narration. This book also contains more historically accurate information as to their courtship, the war and all that jazz.
However, being historical doesn’t necessarily make it better. I think this book relies pretty heavily on the idea that you are intimately familiar with the musical, as there are a lot of jumps between points of view and time lines and there’s ton of references to Hamilton songs. So you get some depth but not enough, and you get some history but it’s presented in a jarring way that took me out of the overall love story — because that’s what the book is about at it’s core: their courtship.
Also, Angelica is kind of a bitch and not in like the fun way. She’s mean, and I’m not sure I love that — although I do love that she’s not flirting with Hamilton every 10 seconds, since de la Cruz took a different historical interpretation.
So while this was fun and light with a couple swoon-worthy moments (as any romance set during a time period of restraint necessitates), ultimately, I don’t feel the need to read the next two in the series. If anything, I’d get them from the library!
However these could be good holiday gifts to the middle grade readers in your life, as I think a lot of my “issues” with the book come from an adult perspective.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.5
I really don’t have a great review for this one. That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry is a collection of short stories inspired by the landscape of Ireland as well as its many, many songs. Irish songs, often popularized as pub songs, are generally several stanza ballads encompassing love and loss, as well as magic and the mundane. This collection aims to combine the oldest of Irish traditions with a modern Irish populace, all set against the never-changing background of the Irish countryside.
Sounds incredible, right? But I was... bored. And I didn’t get it. I don’t know if it was just that the short story format didn’t connect with me or what, but besides the first story in the collection, I felt like everything flew above my head and I was missing references left and right. It’s definitely the type of book I needed to read with a professor and a group.
Now, if you aren’t familiar with Kevin Berry, you should definitely try his debut novel, City of Bohane, which has A Clockwork Orange-type vibe. I absolutely loved that book and found his dystopian interpretation of Ireland interesting. But this one just didn’t do it for me. However, if you like lyricism, grey areas and short stories, it might be for you!
Sounds incredible, right? But I was... bored. And I didn’t get it. I don’t know if it was just that the short story format didn’t connect with me or what, but besides the first story in the collection, I felt like everything flew above my head and I was missing references left and right. It’s definitely the type of book I needed to read with a professor and a group.
Now, if you aren’t familiar with Kevin Berry, you should definitely try his debut novel, City of Bohane, which has A Clockwork Orange-type vibe. I absolutely loved that book and found his dystopian interpretation of Ireland interesting. But this one just didn’t do it for me. However, if you like lyricism, grey areas and short stories, it might be for you!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Death
The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan is all about a book that has the power to change your life. After stumbling across a manuscript in a hotel, Anne-Lise Briard makes it a mission to find and connect with the author. But as she does, she opens a the door to not just one but a whirlwind of authors, each of whom held and helped along the manuscript in their own way. So what does it mean when a book changes your life — and what does it mean when authorship becomes collective? (TW: death, imprisonment, divorce and brief mentions of miscarriage and suicide.)
I found the premise for this one charming and intriguing. However, I wasn’t particularly enamored with the overall story. It kept me engaged, I chuckled a few times and there was a twist I didn’t see coming — yet, I couldn’t help feeling the emotional core didn’t really get to me at all. This book is supposed to be about the power of books to change your life and yet, I felt lukewarm toward this book. It may have been in part that the e-reader version kept me from feeling the warmth of the paper and the sound of a turning page that makes a book so lovable to me.
I think this book might hit differently for other readers — there’s a lot of about lost love, divorce and tragic circumstances that could resonate with you and make you identify with these characters’ journeys. For me, it didn’t quite hit the mark and I felt like I was observing the entire plot from above, instead of connecting personally with the characters.
The Lost Manuscript is out on January 12 (in 2021, which both doesn’t sound like a real year but that I’m also looking forward to a lot) and I think it’s worth a library checkout!
I found the premise for this one charming and intriguing. However, I wasn’t particularly enamored with the overall story. It kept me engaged, I chuckled a few times and there was a twist I didn’t see coming — yet, I couldn’t help feeling the emotional core didn’t really get to me at all. This book is supposed to be about the power of books to change your life and yet, I felt lukewarm toward this book. It may have been in part that the e-reader version kept me from feeling the warmth of the paper and the sound of a turning page that makes a book so lovable to me.
I think this book might hit differently for other readers — there’s a lot of about lost love, divorce and tragic circumstances that could resonate with you and make you identify with these characters’ journeys. For me, it didn’t quite hit the mark and I felt like I was observing the entire plot from above, instead of connecting personally with the characters.
The Lost Manuscript is out on January 12 (in 2021, which both doesn’t sound like a real year but that I’m also looking forward to a lot) and I think it’s worth a library checkout!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide
Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
Ten Rules For Faking It by Sophie Sullivan is a fun, light read that is great for a Saturday afternoon at home with college football, your favorite TV show or Christmas movies on in the background.
Synopsis: Everly Dean has never had the best luck with birthdays. But her 30th might just take the case. Not only did she break up with her boyfriend, she also manages to accidentally air all her dirty laundry about said break-up on the radio. So, she makes a list — 10 ways to make it through her thirties — and this time, she’s determined to stick to it. If only there wasn’t a very cute radio station manager throwing her off track.
Everly is a lovable and highly relatable character, and I appreciated how Sullivan depicted facets of Everly’s severe social anxiety and her coping mechanisms, some of which are similar to my own. I felt that her anxiety was given all due respect and I loved that her friends, family and romantic interest didn’t view it as an issue at all.
That being said, I didn’t ever feel overly attached or invested in the characters, and I don’t really think I ever got 100% in their heads, which I like to do when I read a romance story. This book has alternating points of view between Everly and her romantic lead, Chris, which I normally like, but I felt the transitions between the two could’ve been done more smoothly.
I also felt the book became somewhat repetitive toward the end, which I think was supposed to be a byproduct of Everly’s anxiety — all the going back and forth of her mind and emotions — but actually just served to annoy me in large part. I wanted to be invested in the ending but all the back and forth left me somewhat exhausted.
This is a pretty PG romance so if you’re not into steam, this is a good option! I wish it’d given me a few more butterflies but I think so much focus was given to Everly’s strength and character building (which was great, don’t get me wrong) that sometimes I felt like the romance portion fell by the wayside.
Synopsis: Everly Dean has never had the best luck with birthdays. But her 30th might just take the case. Not only did she break up with her boyfriend, she also manages to accidentally air all her dirty laundry about said break-up on the radio. So, she makes a list — 10 ways to make it through her thirties — and this time, she’s determined to stick to it. If only there wasn’t a very cute radio station manager throwing her off track.
Everly is a lovable and highly relatable character, and I appreciated how Sullivan depicted facets of Everly’s severe social anxiety and her coping mechanisms, some of which are similar to my own. I felt that her anxiety was given all due respect and I loved that her friends, family and romantic interest didn’t view it as an issue at all.
That being said, I didn’t ever feel overly attached or invested in the characters, and I don’t really think I ever got 100% in their heads, which I like to do when I read a romance story. This book has alternating points of view between Everly and her romantic lead, Chris, which I normally like, but I felt the transitions between the two could’ve been done more smoothly.
I also felt the book became somewhat repetitive toward the end, which I think was supposed to be a byproduct of Everly’s anxiety — all the going back and forth of her mind and emotions — but actually just served to annoy me in large part. I wanted to be invested in the ending but all the back and forth left me somewhat exhausted.
This is a pretty PG romance so if you’re not into steam, this is a good option! I wish it’d given me a few more butterflies but I think so much focus was given to Everly’s strength and character building (which was great, don’t get me wrong) that sometimes I felt like the romance portion fell by the wayside.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I do not know why it took me so long to read Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender but it might be my favorite book of the year! Felix and Ezra (and Leah! love her too) are fun, warm and loving characters who I want to befriend and hang out with every single day. (TW: transphobia, sexism and homophobia.)
It was such a big book in so many ways, dealing with really heavy topics such as sexuality and gender identity, but it’s still so incredibly relatable, light-hearted and fun. It’s a YA book but that just makes it stronger to me — because it’s not adults who are set in their ways having to push against boundaries, it’s about modern (but still flawed and biased) teenagers who are dealing, changing and growing constantly just like all teenagers ever since the history of time. Felix Ever After is the kind of book that would’ve totally changed my worldview in high school.
I love how art and specifically self-portrait plays a role in this story. It draws on so many literary themes, used by famous authors of yore, and yet turns them on their head as well. I’m particularly drawn to a comparison between this and The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, as both are about art, power and self-representation. I really want to write that essay (tbh, sometimes you just can’t leave the English major behind).
If you haven’t read Felix Ever After, please do so! I think it’s a great beginner read for learning more about trans individuals, since it’s highly readable and the information is digestible because it’s written for a younger audience, but it’s also just a delightful YA romance that gave me butterflies multiple times and lowkey made me wish I was a teen at a summer program in NYC. Callender has a fan for life, and I can’t wait to see what they put out next!
It was such a big book in so many ways, dealing with really heavy topics such as sexuality and gender identity, but it’s still so incredibly relatable, light-hearted and fun. It’s a YA book but that just makes it stronger to me — because it’s not adults who are set in their ways having to push against boundaries, it’s about modern (but still flawed and biased) teenagers who are dealing, changing and growing constantly just like all teenagers ever since the history of time. Felix Ever After is the kind of book that would’ve totally changed my worldview in high school.
I love how art and specifically self-portrait plays a role in this story. It draws on so many literary themes, used by famous authors of yore, and yet turns them on their head as well. I’m particularly drawn to a comparison between this and The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, as both are about art, power and self-representation. I really want to write that essay (tbh, sometimes you just can’t leave the English major behind).
If you haven’t read Felix Ever After, please do so! I think it’s a great beginner read for learning more about trans individuals, since it’s highly readable and the information is digestible because it’s written for a younger audience, but it’s also just a delightful YA romance that gave me butterflies multiple times and lowkey made me wish I was a teen at a summer program in NYC. Callender has a fan for life, and I can’t wait to see what they put out next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexism