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notesbynnenna's Reviews (513)
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
What a fun, engaging, and sexy romance read!
Our main character, Naya, leads a quiet life. After splitting with her abusive ex a few years ago, all she wanted to do was fade into the background. But she’s become a shell of the person she used to be, so her friends lovingly encourage her to get out of her routine and try something new. She decides that maybe they’re not wrong and on the first night she opens herself up a little, she meets a guy in a bar. Before their flirtation can turn into something serious, she has to decide if she’s ready for a new relationship or if she wants to retreat back to her old life.
I loved that the two main characters were both nerds that enjoyed trading cheesy jokes back and forth. Since Naya is a professor, I also liked how the author explored the struggles of being a woman in academia. I really felt for Naya and hearing about the ways her ex used to hurt her was hard to read. I definitely want to mention the discussion of domestic violence in this book so that you don’t go in thinking this is a super light read.
To me, this book was about a woman trying to find herself again and learning to believe in herself and her worth. I also loved that Naya made a list of things she wanted to do/accomplish, along with the nods to her list throughout the book, as I am very much a list person myself. Overall, I thought this was a fun romance! I enjoyed the writing, there were some great supporting characters, and some good steamy moments as well (ooo la la).
[CW: domestic violence, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse]
What a fun, engaging, and sexy romance read!
Our main character, Naya, leads a quiet life. After splitting with her abusive ex a few years ago, all she wanted to do was fade into the background. But she’s become a shell of the person she used to be, so her friends lovingly encourage her to get out of her routine and try something new. She decides that maybe they’re not wrong and on the first night she opens herself up a little, she meets a guy in a bar. Before their flirtation can turn into something serious, she has to decide if she’s ready for a new relationship or if she wants to retreat back to her old life.
I loved that the two main characters were both nerds that enjoyed trading cheesy jokes back and forth. Since Naya is a professor, I also liked how the author explored the struggles of being a woman in academia. I really felt for Naya and hearing about the ways her ex used to hurt her was hard to read. I definitely want to mention the discussion of domestic violence in this book so that you don’t go in thinking this is a super light read.
To me, this book was about a woman trying to find herself again and learning to believe in herself and her worth. I also loved that Naya made a list of things she wanted to do/accomplish, along with the nods to her list throughout the book, as I am very much a list person myself. Overall, I thought this was a fun romance! I enjoyed the writing, there were some great supporting characters, and some good steamy moments as well (ooo la la).
[CW: domestic violence, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse]
Brb, just adding this adorable and swoony book to the list of contemporary romances I loved!
Our main characters, Elle and Darcy, are complete opposites. Elle runs an astrology account and believes in birth charts and star signs. Darcy is an actuary who lives a very neat and ordered life and is averse to taking risks. At first glance, they seem incompatible, but when Darcy cooks up a scheme for them to fake date to get her brother off her back, Elle reluctantly agrees to play along. The last thing either of them expects is that they might develop real feelings for each other.
I really enjoyed Darcy and Elle as characters and the slow build of their relationship was great. They both have complicated relationships with their families, so I enjoyed the exploration of their family dynamics. There were a couple great steamy scenes and I loved that this is low key set during the holidays (it takes place in November and December).
This book definitely sucked me in- I just wanted to keep reading! I was rooting hard for Elle and Darcy and it made me want to giggle excitedly when something romantic happened or clutch my head in frustration when something went wrong. I thought this f/f romance was just so fun and charming and I would definitely recommend it if you love a good rom-com.
Our main characters, Elle and Darcy, are complete opposites. Elle runs an astrology account and believes in birth charts and star signs. Darcy is an actuary who lives a very neat and ordered life and is averse to taking risks. At first glance, they seem incompatible, but when Darcy cooks up a scheme for them to fake date to get her brother off her back, Elle reluctantly agrees to play along. The last thing either of them expects is that they might develop real feelings for each other.
I really enjoyed Darcy and Elle as characters and the slow build of their relationship was great. They both have complicated relationships with their families, so I enjoyed the exploration of their family dynamics. There were a couple great steamy scenes and I loved that this is low key set during the holidays (it takes place in November and December).
This book definitely sucked me in- I just wanted to keep reading! I was rooting hard for Elle and Darcy and it made me want to giggle excitedly when something romantic happened or clutch my head in frustration when something went wrong. I thought this f/f romance was just so fun and charming and I would definitely recommend it if you love a good rom-com.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this sweet YA holiday romance. It was very light and easy to breeze through, and I read this book happily over the course of one day. Our main character, Bailey, works in a bookstore (dream job alert!) and is a Christmas fanatic, so she’s a girl after my own heart. This book was on the younger side of YA, so I feel like a younger reader who loves a holiday book could enjoy it even more than I did. It had plenty of holiday cheer, which is exactly what I’m in the mood for at the moment.
I enjoyed this sweet YA holiday romance. It was very light and easy to breeze through, and I read this book happily over the course of one day. Our main character, Bailey, works in a bookstore (dream job alert!) and is a Christmas fanatic, so she’s a girl after my own heart. This book was on the younger side of YA, so I feel like a younger reader who loves a holiday book could enjoy it even more than I did. It had plenty of holiday cheer, which is exactly what I’m in the mood for at the moment.
This was a pleasant enough read, but I felt like it was lacking something. I loved the premise, along with the ragamuffin cast of side characters, and I also loved that it was set in London (NYC, London, Paris- I love books set in those cities). I wanted to keep reading this and enjoyed it enough while I was reading, but at the same time, I wasn’t fully invested in the story. Overall, it was a solid read, but I wanted more from the romance and more heart from the story in general.
With the word “baker” in the title, I had a feeling that I would enjoy this book. This was another cozy read that’s perfect for the fall or winter season.
There were three main things that I loved about this book. One, I thought the small town feel in this book is very charming. It’s one of those towns where everyone knows everything about everyone, the community is strong, and there are annual town activities. I absolutely loved all of the descriptions of food. I enjoy baking myself, so it was really fun to read about a baker and picture all of the delicious treats she makes throughout the book. This book definitely made me hungry! There were also some great characters in this book that really grew on me as I got to know them more.
This is definitely a slower read in terms of the plot, but that’s certainly not a bad thing if you’re in the mood for a cozy read. I really liked Olivia, the main character. She’s a bit messy and I like that in a character. I love having a character that you want to root for, even when they’re making choices you might disagree with.
I also want to say this is the third book that I’ve read recently that includes a recipe and I am here for recipes in books! Even if I never try the recipe, I love picturing the food that’s described and then having the recipe as an option if I want to make it myself.
There were three main things that I loved about this book. One, I thought the small town feel in this book is very charming. It’s one of those towns where everyone knows everything about everyone, the community is strong, and there are annual town activities. I absolutely loved all of the descriptions of food. I enjoy baking myself, so it was really fun to read about a baker and picture all of the delicious treats she makes throughout the book. This book definitely made me hungry! There were also some great characters in this book that really grew on me as I got to know them more.
This is definitely a slower read in terms of the plot, but that’s certainly not a bad thing if you’re in the mood for a cozy read. I really liked Olivia, the main character. She’s a bit messy and I like that in a character. I love having a character that you want to root for, even when they’re making choices you might disagree with.
I also want to say this is the third book that I’ve read recently that includes a recipe and I am here for recipes in books! Even if I never try the recipe, I love picturing the food that’s described and then having the recipe as an option if I want to make it myself.
Awww, what a sweet, middle-grade holiday read. I loved the Vanderbeeker family (seriously, those kids are adorable). I also loved that this was set in Harlem and liked reading about the tight-knit community that the Vanderbeekers were a part of. And I thought the little illustrations sprinkled throughout the book were delightful. This was a very enjoyable read with a lot of heart, and one that I would definitely recommend for younger readers.
3.5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
After reading several romances in a row, I felt like breaking things up by switching genres, and this suspense novel did not disappoint. It’s told in alternating perspectives from a husband and wife, plus a mysterious third narrator that we slowly learn more about. Emmy is a wildly successful Instagram influencer and her husband, Dan, is a writer. Emmy has become famous for her super relatable mom content, as she shares all sorts of details about their family life on her account, Mamabare. She has thousands of people that love and adore her, but one follower in particular thinks that Emmy doesn’t deserve or appreciate what she has.
I find influencer culture so fascinating and it’s inclusion in this story is one of the main reasons that I wanted to pick this book up. When I think about it, I realized that there are some bloggers/vloggers/content creators that I’ve been following online for years and years. When you follow someone online for that long, watching them grow, getting peeks at their daily life and important milestones, you can’t help but feel like you know them a little. But this book shows how easy it is to curate that online persona/brand and how you’ll never really know what’s going on beneath the surface.
The author (who is actually a husband and wife duo IRL) explored the themes of technology and social media, and how sharing so much of their personal life online affected this family. It makes you think about the safety around sharing personal details online. About posting pictures of your children online that are viewed by thousands of strangers, not to mention wondering how your children might feel about those pictures down the line when they’re old enough to understand what they are.
I thought this was twisted and suspenseful, and I definitely wanted to keep reading to see what happened. Although Emmy’s actions may seem extreme, it does make you think about what’s going on beyond the perfectly curated photos we see on Instagram. Although I feel many influencers are nothing like Emmy, it’s ones like her that give influencers a bad rap.
It was interesting to get a look at another corner of the internet, the mom community. I’m more familiar with the bookstagram corner, or the beauty/fashion influencers, but I don’t follow many mom influencers, so it was fascinating to read about Emmy and her world. I’m not sure that the author is saying anything new about the perils of social media, but it will likely get you thinking about your own online presence.
I’d be curious to hear what someone who considers themselves to be an influencer would think of this book! And also wondering how someone with children would feel about this story. If you’re interested in an exploration of the more extreme side of influencer culture, then you might just like this book.
CW: abortion, miscarriage, death of a child, suicide
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
After reading several romances in a row, I felt like breaking things up by switching genres, and this suspense novel did not disappoint. It’s told in alternating perspectives from a husband and wife, plus a mysterious third narrator that we slowly learn more about. Emmy is a wildly successful Instagram influencer and her husband, Dan, is a writer. Emmy has become famous for her super relatable mom content, as she shares all sorts of details about their family life on her account, Mamabare. She has thousands of people that love and adore her, but one follower in particular thinks that Emmy doesn’t deserve or appreciate what she has.
I find influencer culture so fascinating and it’s inclusion in this story is one of the main reasons that I wanted to pick this book up. When I think about it, I realized that there are some bloggers/vloggers/content creators that I’ve been following online for years and years. When you follow someone online for that long, watching them grow, getting peeks at their daily life and important milestones, you can’t help but feel like you know them a little. But this book shows how easy it is to curate that online persona/brand and how you’ll never really know what’s going on beneath the surface.
The author (who is actually a husband and wife duo IRL) explored the themes of technology and social media, and how sharing so much of their personal life online affected this family. It makes you think about the safety around sharing personal details online. About posting pictures of your children online that are viewed by thousands of strangers, not to mention wondering how your children might feel about those pictures down the line when they’re old enough to understand what they are.
I thought this was twisted and suspenseful, and I definitely wanted to keep reading to see what happened. Although Emmy’s actions may seem extreme, it does make you think about what’s going on beyond the perfectly curated photos we see on Instagram. Although I feel many influencers are nothing like Emmy, it’s ones like her that give influencers a bad rap.
It was interesting to get a look at another corner of the internet, the mom community. I’m more familiar with the bookstagram corner, or the beauty/fashion influencers, but I don’t follow many mom influencers, so it was fascinating to read about Emmy and her world. I’m not sure that the author is saying anything new about the perils of social media, but it will likely get you thinking about your own online presence.
I’d be curious to hear what someone who considers themselves to be an influencer would think of this book! And also wondering how someone with children would feel about this story. If you’re interested in an exploration of the more extreme side of influencer culture, then you might just like this book.
CW: abortion, miscarriage, death of a child, suicide
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
“Ours is a society where white culture is normalized and universalized, while cultures of color are demonized, exotified, or erased.”
In MEDIOCRE, Oluo writes about the dangers of white male supremacy. She demonstrates how it’s a system that benefits a select few, and does harm to a great number of people, especially women and people of color. She also shows how ingrained it is in our society through various historical examples.
I found this book very accessible. She’s obviously tackling a difficult subject here (I’m sure that the title alone is enough to send some people into a tizzy), and I thought she broke down her argument really well. Her writing style felt like you’re having a conversation with a friend who’s extremely well versed in the subject, and I’m sure the fact that I listened to most of this on audio contributed to that feeling as well.
She shone a light on some bits of history that I wasn’t aware of, including how football originally began as a sport for young, elite white men, to toughen them up. I definitely learned some things and spent some time googling some of the people/events she mentioned.
The part that baffles me is how a more inclusive and diverse society would benefit everyone, and yet some people are just too dedicated to upholding a system of white male patriarchy that instead they work against their own self interests. This was a really excellent and timely read. After reading Oluo’s work for the first time, I’m now even more excited to pick up her previous book, SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE.
“Ours is a society where white culture is normalized and universalized, while cultures of color are demonized, exotified, or erased.”
In MEDIOCRE, Oluo writes about the dangers of white male supremacy. She demonstrates how it’s a system that benefits a select few, and does harm to a great number of people, especially women and people of color. She also shows how ingrained it is in our society through various historical examples.
I found this book very accessible. She’s obviously tackling a difficult subject here (I’m sure that the title alone is enough to send some people into a tizzy), and I thought she broke down her argument really well. Her writing style felt like you’re having a conversation with a friend who’s extremely well versed in the subject, and I’m sure the fact that I listened to most of this on audio contributed to that feeling as well.
She shone a light on some bits of history that I wasn’t aware of, including how football originally began as a sport for young, elite white men, to toughen them up. I definitely learned some things and spent some time googling some of the people/events she mentioned.
The part that baffles me is how a more inclusive and diverse society would benefit everyone, and yet some people are just too dedicated to upholding a system of white male patriarchy that instead they work against their own self interests. This was a really excellent and timely read. After reading Oluo’s work for the first time, I’m now even more excited to pick up her previous book, SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Well that was quite a ride! It was an entertaining read in which the author explores the topics of race, start-up and corporate culture, ambition, family, and more.
The story is about a young, Black man named Darren who’s working as a barista in Starbucks when we first meet him. All that changes when he has an encounter with the charismatic CEO of a start-up called Sumwun and lands a job offer at Sumwun that will change the course of his life forever.
The book’s description states that it’s for fans of The Wolf of Wall Street and Sorry to Bother You, and I thought both of those comparisons were apt. In fact, the first time I read the synopsis, Sorry to Bother You immediately came to mind and I also got The Wolf of Wall Street vibes when Darren walks into the Sumwun office for the first time. He’s the only Black employee at the time, so of course he’s tokenized. At one point, he says something along the lines of “they acknowledge my Blackness when it suits them and ignore it when it doesn’t” and wow, does that sentiment hit home.
We see what Darren will endure in order to keep this job so that he can take care of his mom, all the micro- and macro-aggressions that he deals with at work. It felt especially hard reading about everything that Darren goes through this particular week (the same week that violet rioters attacked the Capitol). But at the same time I was right there with Darren, shaking my head at the insults that he has to swallow to stay in the game and succeed at his job. He decides to play the game so he can get ahead, but the question is, is it all worth it in the end?
I don’t know that I can say it was an enjoyable read, because it was somewhat painful to read about everything that Darren goes through, and I wouldn’t say this was a light read either. But again, I think a lot of that was due to the timing of when I read this. It was a great read, and a smart, sharp, and well-written debut novel. I could definitely see this as a movie too.
Well that was quite a ride! It was an entertaining read in which the author explores the topics of race, start-up and corporate culture, ambition, family, and more.
The story is about a young, Black man named Darren who’s working as a barista in Starbucks when we first meet him. All that changes when he has an encounter with the charismatic CEO of a start-up called Sumwun and lands a job offer at Sumwun that will change the course of his life forever.
The book’s description states that it’s for fans of The Wolf of Wall Street and Sorry to Bother You, and I thought both of those comparisons were apt. In fact, the first time I read the synopsis, Sorry to Bother You immediately came to mind and I also got The Wolf of Wall Street vibes when Darren walks into the Sumwun office for the first time. He’s the only Black employee at the time, so of course he’s tokenized. At one point, he says something along the lines of “they acknowledge my Blackness when it suits them and ignore it when it doesn’t” and wow, does that sentiment hit home.
We see what Darren will endure in order to keep this job so that he can take care of his mom, all the micro- and macro-aggressions that he deals with at work. It felt especially hard reading about everything that Darren goes through this particular week (the same week that violet rioters attacked the Capitol). But at the same time I was right there with Darren, shaking my head at the insults that he has to swallow to stay in the game and succeed at his job. He decides to play the game so he can get ahead, but the question is, is it all worth it in the end?
I don’t know that I can say it was an enjoyable read, because it was somewhat painful to read about everything that Darren goes through, and I wouldn’t say this was a light read either. But again, I think a lot of that was due to the timing of when I read this. It was a great read, and a smart, sharp, and well-written debut novel. I could definitely see this as a movie too.
2.5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
You know I’ve never been on a cruise? After a few heavier reads, I wanted a lighter read, and even better if it would transport me, so I picked up Shipped.
It’s about a young woman named Henley who’s a marketing manager at a cruise company. She’s up for a promotion, but in order to land the role, she’s got to go on a cruise to the Galápagos Islands with her archnemesis, Graeme, who’s also her competition for the promotion and put together a killer proposal. It’s fine, she can survive a week-long cruise with him, right?
This one had a lot of ups and downs for me. I liked the premise of the story (I’m here an enemies-to-lovers story), but the characters fell flat for me. In addition, I felt that some of the writing was too cheesy for me and maybe made me cringe a little. I did love the descriptions of the wildlife and nature in the Galápagos. It felt nice to travel somewhere through my book, since I’m not traveling IRL. I’d start to think that I was getting more invested or there would be a scene that was better, but then my interest would drop again.
I liked some of the themes that the author wanted to explore, such as climate change and sexism in the workplace, but overall the story didn’t really come together for me. I just felt that it was a very uneven read that I maybe should have DNFed, but if the premise sounds interesting to you, you might like it more than I did!
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
You know I’ve never been on a cruise? After a few heavier reads, I wanted a lighter read, and even better if it would transport me, so I picked up Shipped.
It’s about a young woman named Henley who’s a marketing manager at a cruise company. She’s up for a promotion, but in order to land the role, she’s got to go on a cruise to the Galápagos Islands with her archnemesis, Graeme, who’s also her competition for the promotion and put together a killer proposal. It’s fine, she can survive a week-long cruise with him, right?
This one had a lot of ups and downs for me. I liked the premise of the story (I’m here an enemies-to-lovers story), but the characters fell flat for me. In addition, I felt that some of the writing was too cheesy for me and maybe made me cringe a little. I did love the descriptions of the wildlife and nature in the Galápagos. It felt nice to travel somewhere through my book, since I’m not traveling IRL. I’d start to think that I was getting more invested or there would be a scene that was better, but then my interest would drop again.
I liked some of the themes that the author wanted to explore, such as climate change and sexism in the workplace, but overall the story didn’t really come together for me. I just felt that it was a very uneven read that I maybe should have DNFed, but if the premise sounds interesting to you, you might like it more than I did!