buttonsandbooks's reviews
1593 reviews

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

5.0

I hadn't heard of this story until a friend of mine said she read it and raved about how good it was. When I saw it was on Kindle Unlimited audio, it was a no brainer. I downloaded it immediately. 

Sam Hill would always see the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he's referred to as "Devil Boy" and "Sam Hell" by his classmates. Sam's mom, a deeply religious woman, referred to it as "God's will". Sam's mother plays a huge role in his life, never taking no for an answer and ensuring that he has all the tools at his disposal to live his "extraordinary life". Sam reflects back on growing up, the bullying he faced, the moments that shaped him, and how he came to be a doctor. 

My review isn't going to do this one justice. Sam was a wonderful character and seeing the world through his eyes was such a treat. I resonated strongly with his mom just in the sense that there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her son, to see to it he had every advantage and opportunity every child had. It was such a beautiful, life affirming story. Highly recommend!!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson

4.0

I saw this on sale with Chirp and snatched it up right away. Hockey romance. Enough said!

Knee deep in a PR crisis, hockey player Ian is ready to finish his hockey career back at home. Delilah needs some serious energy shot into her cable baking show. Fortunately, their PR masterminds decide to bring the two together since Ian is Delilah's brother's best friend. The two will need to fake date to take some of the wrongly placed heat off of Ian and their chemistry helps D's show quite a bit. Can these two find something real in all this PR spin?

Read if you like:

✅ Hockey romance 

✅ Best friend's brother

✅ Childhood crush

✅ Fake dating

✅ 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was spicy and funny and so good! I enjoyed it quite a bit. The audio narration was incredibly well done. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent

4.0

I loved the first two books in the Crowns of Nyaxia series so it's no surprised I had to have this one as well. It's kinda cool the way Broadbent is pairing up duologies to make this series. 

When she was turned into a vampire, Mische lost everything she was. Her home. Her sister. And the worst - the love of the sun god to whom she'd devoted her life as one of his brides. Now she's sentenced to death by the royal family of the vampire who turned her, but there's a small hope. Bastard prince Asar wants to use Mische's sunlight to help him complete a dangerous mission that will take them through the multiple levels of hell, facing beasts and their past simultaneously. This will bring the two dangerously close to sinning together. Both will have to make some terribly hard choices. 

Parts of this drug a little bit for me, but overall I really liked it. Sometimes I think things just get a little detail heavy for my liking. This was both similar and different than the first duology of the series. There was again a hunger games like trial they had to complete, but the vibe was very different in this one. You didn't get the immediate tension. I'll be super curious to pick up where this one left off with book four!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Coldest Case by James Patterson

3.0

This was really well done and interesting! The cast was incredible and really made it come to life. 

The Summer I Destroyed You by Elizabeth O'Roark

4.0

I have enjoyed a couple of the books in this series and I've enjoyed Elizabeth O'Roark books most of the time. So when I saw this on sale with Audible, I decided to pick it up.

Emmy is back in her hometown and ready to rip it to shreds. After all, this town harbors all her worst memories. Now, she's beautiful, thin and successful. Then, when she was in school, everyone made fun of her weight, including her mom who fat shamed him. She will show them all. But when Liam sees her? He's intrigued. Most women fall all over for love and marriage, but now Emmy. She's fire and determined and he is too. 

I don't always like an unlikeable narrator stories. It's hard to want to root for them. I got the backstory here though and it made it make more sense. This was such a messed up backstory for Emmy. It broke my heart, but man I couldn't stand her in the beginning. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Promise Me This by Karla Sorensen

4.0

I love Karla Sorensen's books. Guaranteed happily ever afters are sorely underrated if you ask me. And Karla delivers every single time. 

Harlow is back in her hometown so her daughter can be closer to family. She'd rather continue being in NYC, but Cousins - on the other side of the country - has her parents and her sister. Harlow doesn't have the best relationship with her mom so when her best friend Ian Wilder, who she lost touch with over the past ten years or so, offers to let her and Sage stay with him, she takes him up on it. It's just what she needs to get her writing going again. She was always Ian's person, the one he trusted with his secrets and vice versa. It was never anything more, until now. Now that they're living together it's like they're finally seeing one another differently, but can they take that leap and keep their relationship in tact?

This was a way slower burn than I have ever experienced with Sorensen's books, but super well done. I enjoyed Harlow's character so much. She was hilarious and impatient. It was wild that she was able to tolerate Ian's stoicism, but they were so perfect. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

5.0

Welp, not much of an intro needed here. I didn't look into this. I didn't need to. It's Abby. 

There's just something about Dr. Xavier Rush that Samantha can't shake. When she takes a kitten to see him, his surly, shit attitude doesn't deter her from doing the hard things. It motivates her. She calls him and asshole and proves him wrong. She can't forget him. He sure as hell can't forget her. She comes back to gloat and the two have the most perfect first date ever, complete with core memories. But that's all it can be. One perfect night she needs him to forget. But he can't forget her and she can't forget him either. So they'll do the very hard thing in order to have moments of happiness. But at what cost?

The love in this had me from the get go but my goodness I felt like I had these small crushing heartbreaks at the end of every other chapter. If you've ever been in a long distance relationship, you'll get it. It's SO hard. Xavier was clearly a man written by a woman. He couldn't have been more perfect. Loved this so freaking much. I especially loved the idea of Xavier getting to experience family the right way. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fire in the Darkness by Stacey Marie Brown

3.0

After loving the first book in this series, I knew I had to get my hands on the second book. I figured it would pick right up where the last left off and I was right, but it didn't do it for me quite the way the first one did. 

Now that she knows what she is, Ember Brycin is trying life on the run. There are way too many beings from the Otherworld on her to take her either to the Queen or the Unseelie King, neither of which sounds like a plan to her. Eli ends up saving her and she's with the Dark Dwellers for a time, while learning more and more about dae and what exactly it means. She's training to take on the Queen, but will she ever actually be ready for what she has in store or to rescue the people Queen has taken hostage to lure Ember there?

This got a little too fluffy on the details for me and I did a bit of skimming to get through them. Yes, the characters were interesting but I wanted more Eli and Ember. With the way this one ended, I'm curious but don't know when I'll get to book 3. 

⭐⭐⭐

Asking For Trouble by Tessa Bailey

3.0

This was probably the best in the series, but the female narration was a little weird. Just too babyish sounding. 

Officer Off Limits by Tessa Bailey

3.0

This was another from the check old Tessa off my list. Lots of spice. Plot not great but ok.