coffeebooksandescape's reviews
312 reviews

Sweet Deception (Angel Peaks #3) by Sophie Penhaligon

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

~ @sophiepenhaligonauthor

~ Contemporary romance

~ Angel peaks (book 3)

“𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬?” 

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘙𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺. “𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘙𝘺𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘹 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:

💕 𝙵𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚌é 

🐺 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 (𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚜)

👮‍♀️ 𝙾𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝

🛌 𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍

✏️ 𝙳𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚟

I think I should just go and buy the rest of Sophie’s books right now, because for the third time this month it was another winner. I will never understand how romance writers come up with these outstanding romance books that and in no way alike over and over again, like where do these brilliant romances come from? These books will have you expecting that epic romance in your own life.

This one was a bit different, because for the first time in this series, one of the main characters in the love interest is from outside of this close knit group of friends, and honestly I loved this. You’ve got the outgoing Scarlett that shines light into the room with her energy, and then the moody Wolfie (yeah the nickname stuck) who has been dealt a rough hand in life and has put himself in solitary confinement outside of work. But they’re both attracted to one another, and there is a lot of 🌶️ between them.

But we all know how it ends when you pretend to be fake engaged, and then end up in close quarters at a work team building retreat for a week! Ahh! Except there were near death experiences, and a lot of opening up to each other like they never have before! This is the kind of book that never stops giving, and Wolfie’s accident was just the tip of the iceberg in this romantic adventure.

Recommend this whole series for any romance lover! I’ll be keeping my eye out for book four now! 👀need to get Ryan settled!

Vets with Benefits: A Friends to Lovers Romance by Sophie Penhaligon

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚅𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙱𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚝𝚜

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

~ @sophiepenhaligonauthor

~ Contemporary Romance

~ Angel Peaks (book 2)

“𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳.” 

“𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘑𝘦𝘦𝘱,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺. 

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥. “𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥.”

𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ➡️

💕 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜

🦙 𝙽𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚜

💛 𝙾𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 

🐶 𝙳𝚘𝚐 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐

💌 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢

🤫 𝚄𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎

Ahh another emotional but feel-good romance from Sophie Penhaligon! I recently finished book one (Ugly Truths) in this series, and I posted about how brilliant it was because it encompassed some really important and thought provoking topics. If you haven’t given the review a read yet, definitely do.

Now, this one picks up a couple of weeks after the last one finished but with the two best friends as the main characters instead. I mean I’m a sucker for these types of contemporary romance series where all the friends get their happy endings anyway, but this book was magnificent. I wouldn’t recommend as a stand-alone because I feel like you miss some of the background, but Sophie does a really good job of bringing you up to speed! 

Anywho, this romance is the best frenemies to lovers, with banter and wind-ups and everything else. This is the kind of sexual tension you could cut with a knife, because you know they both really fancy each other! It had a huge topic on body image and consciousness, and tried to promote body positivity in someone without the supermodel bod. Personally, I felt like Maddie and me could have been described exactly the same. Both short and curvy with blonde curly hair, so I felt this book was made for me.

Also, there’s a really big twist that I wasn’t expecting so I recommend you read this 👀

The Hiker by M.J. Ford

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚛

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
~ Thriller

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 – 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘤 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦.”

It’s been a while since I’ve read a thriller, and I’m so glad I gave this one a go. It’s erred with mystery the entire way through, but runs two alternating timelines of what happened from two sisters perspectives. It starts off with the really difficult topic of debt, and just how far you would go to get yourself out of it. I think this part of the story was really brilliantly written, as someone who has been in tough money situations before I think it adds an extra depth to this whole storyline.

As the story moves on, it becomes more intriguing with each revelation. Towards the end there was the big unexpected twist, but it didn’t end there. Just when you think “ahh it’s over”, this rollercoaster of a thriller hits you with one last turn!  And you know what, I actually did stay up all night just to finish this, knowing I had to take my toddler to nursery early in the morning! Whoops! That’s a sign of a good book!

I’ve read a few reviews saying that the twist was “weird”, which it was, but as a trainee criminal psychologist that is one hundred present the kind of thing I was here for! 

It’s a quick and easy thriller to read (with short snappy chapters) without too much detail (thankfully) and I highly recommend for someone wants to dip into thrillers as a novice, or someone who, like me, hasn’t read a thriller in a while, to ease back in to the genre!

Thank you to Avon Books UK for the gifted copy!

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲.

12 Hours To Say I Love You by Olivia Poulet, Laurence Dobiesz

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝟷𝟸 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚊𝚢 𝙸 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚈𝚘𝚞

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 

~ @unuitdamour

~ Romance, Women’s Fiction

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 - 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯.”

This was one of the best love stories I have ever read. This is that epic love that survives everything thrown at them, it’s a really emotional read that takes you through a rollercoaster of emotionally challenging moments this couple shared together. However, there were also more than their fair share of happy hilarious memories too. Ones that had me laughing out loud!

The thing that makes this book really unique is how it’s told. Main character Pippa has a car accident and she’s in a coma. The doctors tell Steve that the first 12 hours are really important and that be should talk to her, tell her why he loves her, and try and coax her back to the living world. The authors did this incredibly. The chapters were written by both authors and jumped back and forth between present and past, and the past was written from both Pippa’s and Steve’s perspectives. No one author wrote one character, but instead they interchanged, but it didn’t feel clunky at all.

This book covered a lot of really important topics, such as miscarriage, IVF, cancer and even jealousy and mental health, in a really formative way. The thoughts and feelings of the characters throughout weren’t muted, and the things they had to go through weren’t either. 

While this is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read, I think it may also be one of the most important stories too. The only thing it was missing was an epilogue, it needed a bigger ending! 

I highly recommend if you need a heartwarming and emotional read.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺ī𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺á𝘯𝘨, 𝘺á𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺ī𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

What a brilliant piece of fantasy fiction. Fantasy works always leave me with these feelings of completeness, and this was no exception. I am really desperate for the second book though, because I need to know what’s going to happen from here.

This was a brilliant start to a trilogy, and can see it playing out really well. The Chinese folklore of demon creatures and a “qi” based magical power gave this the best unique edge! This is addictive from the beginning, the mysteries, heartbreaks, action packed chapters with a brilliant cast of characters leave you turning the pages to no end! 

If you’re a lover of epic fantasy, this one’s definitely something you should pick up!

Thank you so much to Harper Voyager for the gifted copy, and to Random Things Tours for my blog tour spot!

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲.

Belly Woman by Benjamin Black

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

“𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

I have been thinking about what to write for a while, and honestly I can’t even put it into words. This is the most moving, emotional, heartbreaking book I have ever read. But that left me wanting to find out more the whole way through. I’m so glad I read this eye opening book.

I think this is a story that I will never have enough. It’s 2014, Ebola is a thing in a couple of countries far away, and Benjamin flies to Sierra Leone to be a surgeon/midwife in a place with a high death rate in pregnant women and babies. Ebola feels far away, until suddenly it’s not. It’s on their doorstep, and he becomes frontline in fighting a pandemic in a foreign land, where nobody understands it yet.

The difference between Sierra Leone and the world of modern medicine is that every person in Sierra Leone knows someone who has died during childbirth, and that’s not normal. This book isn’t just about how Ebola made maternal healthcare worse, it’s about the state that maternal care was in to begin with. And personally, as someone who gave birth during a pandemic, I’m so happy I read this book and got a maternity healthcare perspective of how our feelings mattered as much as protecting the staff.

If you don’t mind hearing some pretty horrific tales, and want something eye opening and deeply moving - pick up this book. It’s worth the tears that (trust me) are inevitable. 

Thank you to Neem Tree Press and Benjamin Black for my #gifted copy, and to Love Book Tours for my space on the tour.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

I don’t know why I let it take so long for me to pick this book up. I’ve had it on my shelves since before the film released on Prime, but I watched the film first. Worst mistake of my life. I hated the film with a passion, but they completely changed the book. I can’t believe I let the film put me off.

Hell, I couldn’t put this down. I am obsessed with Lucy and Josh. The sexual tension was so thick you couldn’t cut it with a knife! I mean I always have a thing for these moody types, the brooding attractive ones, so yeah the Josh Templeman’s of the world. 

If you haven’t read this yet and you love an enemies to lovers with massive sexual tension, give this one a go. It’s hilarious and super sweet! 

Ugly Truths by Sophie Penhaligon

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“𝘞𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

I think romance books can be particularly hard to rate, because most romances are built on the same components so you know the author needs to think somewhat outside the box. Then as a reader it’s questions about whether it was original enough, whether they bought anything new to the romance game.

This one definitely did! I picked this series up (the next two still to read), after reading Sophie Penhaligon’s Safety in Numbers, and loving it! Sophie did not disappoint with this book. It all comes back to over 10 years ago when one 13 year old bullied another for 4 years beforehand, and made her, and her family, move and disappear in the middle of the night. All these years later, their worlds collide. She hates him, and he hates himself for how he treated her.

The question this book brings to the table, is can you forgive an adolescent for how they acted? Will they always be remembered for the trouble they caused? Or will them changing into a remorseful and caring adult change things? It really was deeply moving and Sophie Penhaligon did an amazing job of portraying all these feelings the characters would have had. 

This book also covers a multitude of real world issues, but most particularly eating disorders and the issues professional modelling can cause to younger females. It was thought provoking and added a real depth to an otherwise lighthearted and fascinating romance! I highly recommend!

My Friend Anna: The true story of the fake heiress of New York City by Rachel DeLoache Williams

dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

“𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 

Many of you will have heard of Anna Delvey and Rachel Deloache Williams whom Anna conned out of a large sum of money, that is this book. This is not 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢 on Netflix, which is true “except for the parts that aren’t”, this is the real unaltered story. I wish I had read this before watching the Netflix documentary limited series, because I found myself comparing which is never good knowing the documentary series wasn’t completely accurate.

I really do enjoy true crime as a genre, I just can’t believe stuff like this actually happens still. I mean, we all know it does, but it all sounds a tad unbelievable until it happens to you, and that’s how Rachel, herself, felt. She didn’t think she was vulnerable enough to be a victim, she trusted Anna, Anna was her friend. I think the Anna Delvey story is really interesting. I mean surely any con-woman would have never returned to the same place more than once? 

I think Rachel did a brilliant job of recounting what happened. Actually there was a lot of detail in there I didn’t expect. There were scenes where the decor was described to a huge extent that I didn’t think would be possible from memory. I think it comes to serve as a reminder that anyone can be a victim, sometimes we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Ashes by Cara Clare

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦.”

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

Three books in three days, and this third book in the series did not disappoint, all I’m saying is I need more Luther. This is basically one long book that’s been split into six parts. It’s unputdownable and so spicy! 

Recommend if you love spicy reverse harem fantasy!