Take a photo of a barcode or cover
obsidian_blue's reviews
3099 reviews
A Lesson In Dying by Ann Cleeves
4.0
Updated review from February 1, 2025
Trigger warning: Suicide
I received this book from NetGalley, which did not affect my rating or review. Just to make sure people know, I read this back in 2021. I went and re-read a ton of Cleeves back-list. I do feel disappointed I could not continue with her Palmer-Jones series. I really enjoyed it, but most of the books are not available unless they are in paperback somewhere.
The Inspector Ramsay series is in my opinion very good. In this first book in the series, you are not going to start off with a high opinion of him. Probably because most of the book is laying the groundwork for some other characters who appear in the series later on. Also, Cleeves takes a very long time to set the stage and things move very very slowly until you have Ramsay and two other characters, Patty and Jack, who are daughter and father, who get involved in investigating the murder.
The book starts off focusing on a small village in Northumbrian. Cleeves ticks through characters who are dreading getting together for the local PTA conference because the local headmaster, Harold Medburn is mean and seems hell-bent on keeping everything under his control. When the school gets ready for a Halloween party (their first) Harold is found hung. The police immediately suspect that his wife Kitty did it. But the school caretaker, Jack Robson, who still carries a bit of a torch from Kitty from their younger days is determined to prove she's innocent. His daughter, Patty, who seems unclear on what she can do or is good at, finds herself standing by to assist Inspector Ramsay in his investigation.
Most of the book is Patty, Jack, and Ramsay talking to people and doing what they can to prove that Kitty killed or did not kill Medburn. It takes some time for the book to find its footing. And then of course a second murder takes place. Things come together quite well in the end, but there is some lingering guilt from this book that is going to follow Ramsay through the rest of the series.
Cleeves doesn't change anything in this one outside of the new introduction that shows you where her head was at when she wrote this. I did appreciate that. There's also several pages devoted to the second book in the series. I imagine that means they are going to re-release all of them again which will be nice. I ended up buying some of these and having them sent to me from the UK, yes, I was that invested in this series and had to see how it ended.
August 2021 review:
I won't lie, the beginning of this book drags like heck, but by the time you get to the 40 percent mark things start to click together. I really liked the character of Inspector Ramsey and want to read the entire series starring him. This reminded me of a somewhat darker and in some aspects more gory Midsomer Murders.
Trigger warning: Suicide
I received this book from NetGalley, which did not affect my rating or review. Just to make sure people know, I read this back in 2021. I went and re-read a ton of Cleeves back-list. I do feel disappointed I could not continue with her Palmer-Jones series. I really enjoyed it, but most of the books are not available unless they are in paperback somewhere.
The Inspector Ramsay series is in my opinion very good. In this first book in the series, you are not going to start off with a high opinion of him. Probably because most of the book is laying the groundwork for some other characters who appear in the series later on. Also, Cleeves takes a very long time to set the stage and things move very very slowly until you have Ramsay and two other characters, Patty and Jack, who are daughter and father, who get involved in investigating the murder.
The book starts off focusing on a small village in Northumbrian. Cleeves ticks through characters who are dreading getting together for the local PTA conference because the local headmaster, Harold Medburn is mean and seems hell-bent on keeping everything under his control. When the school gets ready for a Halloween party (their first) Harold is found hung. The police immediately suspect that his wife Kitty did it. But the school caretaker, Jack Robson, who still carries a bit of a torch from Kitty from their younger days is determined to prove she's innocent. His daughter, Patty, who seems unclear on what she can do or is good at, finds herself standing by to assist Inspector Ramsay in his investigation.
Most of the book is Patty, Jack, and Ramsay talking to people and doing what they can to prove that Kitty killed or did not kill Medburn. It takes some time for the book to find its footing. And then of course a second murder takes place. Things come together quite well in the end, but there is some lingering guilt from this book that is going to follow Ramsay through the rest of the series.
Cleeves doesn't change anything in this one outside of the new introduction that shows you where her head was at when she wrote this. I did appreciate that. There's also several pages devoted to the second book in the series. I imagine that means they are going to re-release all of them again which will be nice. I ended up buying some of these and having them sent to me from the UK, yes, I was that invested in this series and had to see how it ended.
August 2021 review:
I won't lie, the beginning of this book drags like heck, but by the time you get to the 40 percent mark things start to click together. I really liked the character of Inspector Ramsey and want to read the entire series starring him. This reminded me of a somewhat darker and in some aspects more gory Midsomer Murders.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
The Girl Most Likely To by Julie Tieu
4.0
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
"The Girl Most Likely To" follows Rachel Dang, who got "The Girl Most Likely To Succeed" in high school. A few days before her high school's 20th reunion, she is laid off and is forced to become an assistant to her friend Nat, who is on the rise in Hollywood. Rachel wants to go since she feels stuck and is wondering about the guy she used to have a crush on, Danny Phan.
Be forewarned, this took a while to get going. I ended up liking it in the end, but there were so many weird stop/starts in this one that I kept thinking okay, this must be the end, and nope, here's more pages to get through. I do think the chapters ending and shifting over to IMs that Rachel and Danny sent each other in high school was a bit annoying after a while though. I just wanted the book to get going. We already know they had not talked in 20 years, I really didn't want to keep reading old IMs to each other. It also didn't give me a sense of their connection to each other. When the story shifted to the present, it was much better IMHO.
I think that Rachel and Danny were interesting characters. I think there was too much information tossed out there about Danny's backstory at one point I was just confused and went with it. Other characters such as Rachel's family and her best friend Nat were developed really well. Heck, even the kids they grew up with you can see what made them the smart one, the geeks, etc. I have only gone to one reunion, I think it was my 15th, and a lot of people were still hyper focused on high school for my taste. I haven't gone to one since. This book though was a fun little look at what happens to those we think are going to succeed.
The ending was really good and I liked it. Tieu may sure it did end on a HEA.
"The Girl Most Likely To" follows Rachel Dang, who got "The Girl Most Likely To Succeed" in high school. A few days before her high school's 20th reunion, she is laid off and is forced to become an assistant to her friend Nat, who is on the rise in Hollywood. Rachel wants to go since she feels stuck and is wondering about the guy she used to have a crush on, Danny Phan.
Be forewarned, this took a while to get going. I ended up liking it in the end, but there were so many weird stop/starts in this one that I kept thinking okay, this must be the end, and nope, here's more pages to get through. I do think the chapters ending and shifting over to IMs that Rachel and Danny sent each other in high school was a bit annoying after a while though. I just wanted the book to get going. We already know they had not talked in 20 years, I really didn't want to keep reading old IMs to each other. It also didn't give me a sense of their connection to each other. When the story shifted to the present, it was much better IMHO.
I think that Rachel and Danny were interesting characters. I think there was too much information tossed out there about Danny's backstory at one point I was just confused and went with it. Other characters such as Rachel's family and her best friend Nat were developed really well. Heck, even the kids they grew up with you can see what made them the smart one, the geeks, etc. I have only gone to one reunion, I think it was my 15th, and a lot of people were still hyper focused on high school for my taste. I haven't gone to one since. This book though was a fun little look at what happens to those we think are going to succeed.
The ending was really good and I liked it. Tieu may sure it did end on a HEA.
Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
2.0
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
I really wish I could have gotten into this one more, but it was such a slow book and it just kept taking me out of it that nowhere was anything mentioned about the time period we were in. I of course noted it had to be the late 80s or early 90s due to the mention of walk-mans and the Ninja freaking Turtles, but it was driving me batty that it was never said. The characters in the book were loosely developed. The main lead we follow, Mina, was not that interesting to me. I was hoping we were going for a type of Midsomer book and we sort of get there towards the end, but again, it was a slow book that took me almost a month to get through.
"Something in the Walls" follows newly minted child psychologist, Mina. Mina though we find, is not quite okay. Something from her past with her late brother is troubling her, and she now wonders if she should even marry her fiancée Oscar (mentioned, but rarely seen). Mina attends a grief counseling session and there meets a journalist named Sam. Sam is working on a story about a 13 year old girl named Alice who many believe is possessed by a witch. Sam asks Mina to go with him to the village of Banathel where Alice and her family lives so Mina can assess Alice to determine if she is having some type of mental breakdown.
Honestly, most of the book does not do a great job with developing anyone. We have Mina, who we know is hiding something. Alice and her family seem to be caught up in some sort of violence due to her father's job at the local abattoir. The next door neighbors, Bert and Mary and Fern who seem to be holding onto secrets. Pearce jumps around a lot to the point I just kept going what story was she trying to tell. The story of Mina or what was really going on with Alice. On the last part, I think that the ending and reveal kind of undid all of that, but what do I know.
The flow of the book was pretty awful. I just felt as if I was reading and nothing was happening. Just Mina and Sam getting scared, Mina snooping, and Mina not actually doing anything I would assume a child psychologist should be doing.
The setting of Banathel was put to good use though. Taking place over a very hot summer, you could feel the heat and how oppressive the whole place felt. And you could see why a village like this would be taken over by hysterics regarding witches.
The ending didn't leave me with any sort of satisfaction, I think that there were too many plots to tie up. That said, I am glad I finally finished this one.
I really wish I could have gotten into this one more, but it was such a slow book and it just kept taking me out of it that nowhere was anything mentioned about the time period we were in. I of course noted it had to be the late 80s or early 90s due to the mention of walk-mans and the Ninja freaking Turtles, but it was driving me batty that it was never said. The characters in the book were loosely developed. The main lead we follow, Mina, was not that interesting to me. I was hoping we were going for a type of Midsomer book and we sort of get there towards the end, but again, it was a slow book that took me almost a month to get through.
"Something in the Walls" follows newly minted child psychologist, Mina. Mina though we find, is not quite okay. Something from her past with her late brother is troubling her, and she now wonders if she should even marry her fiancée Oscar (mentioned, but rarely seen). Mina attends a grief counseling session and there meets a journalist named Sam. Sam is working on a story about a 13 year old girl named Alice who many believe is possessed by a witch. Sam asks Mina to go with him to the village of Banathel where Alice and her family lives so Mina can assess Alice to determine if she is having some type of mental breakdown.
Honestly, most of the book does not do a great job with developing anyone. We have Mina, who we know is hiding something. Alice and her family seem to be caught up in some sort of violence due to her father's job at the local abattoir. The next door neighbors, Bert and Mary and Fern who seem to be holding onto secrets. Pearce jumps around a lot to the point I just kept going what story was she trying to tell. The story of Mina or what was really going on with Alice. On the last part, I think that the ending and reveal kind of undid all of that, but what do I know.
The flow of the book was pretty awful. I just felt as if I was reading and nothing was happening. Just Mina and Sam getting scared, Mina snooping, and Mina not actually doing anything I would assume a child psychologist should be doing.
The setting of Banathel was put to good use though. Taking place over a very hot summer, you could feel the heat and how oppressive the whole place felt. And you could see why a village like this would be taken over by hysterics regarding witches.
The ending didn't leave me with any sort of satisfaction, I think that there were too many plots to tie up. That said, I am glad I finally finished this one.
Luck Be a Lady by Meredith Duran
5.0
This was a great romance buddy read! I loved it from beginning to end. I really do need to read more of Duran's backlist when I get a chance. This is the third book of hers I have done a buddy read on and she's a great writer.
"Lucky Be a Lady" follows Catherine Everleigh. Catherine is an heiress with a problem. If she doesn't marry, she will end up losing her half of her family's auction house. Her brother is threatening to force her to marry someone against her will. Catherine though realizes that what she needs is a husband, but one that she can use to get her brother to keep silent on the marriage so she can take control. That man is Nicholas O'Shea, a rising crime lord in London.
Catherine and Nicholas were great together. I love marriage of convenience subplots that take place in the Regency and Victorian era because they definitely happened back then and you can see how if you are left with zero choices, you would have one. What is great though is Catherine and Nicholas attraction to each other throughout and the hot scenes we get. That said, Duran develops Catherine and Nicholas very well. We get a scene with Catherine was a young girl and then shift later to Nicholas a young boy. They both have their reasons for why they do things, and it was great to see all of that slowly come out throughout the book.
Some of my favorite scenes were the card game, Nicholas rescuing Catherine, and the ending with Catherine forcing Nicholas to read something.
The ending was great, but I won't like, I wish sometimes that Duran would show her leads a few months after we get their HEA's just so see how things have changed.
"Lucky Be a Lady" follows Catherine Everleigh. Catherine is an heiress with a problem. If she doesn't marry, she will end up losing her half of her family's auction house. Her brother is threatening to force her to marry someone against her will. Catherine though realizes that what she needs is a husband, but one that she can use to get her brother to keep silent on the marriage so she can take control. That man is Nicholas O'Shea, a rising crime lord in London.
Catherine and Nicholas were great together. I love marriage of convenience subplots that take place in the Regency and Victorian era because they definitely happened back then and you can see how if you are left with zero choices, you would have one. What is great though is Catherine and Nicholas attraction to each other throughout and the hot scenes we get. That said, Duran develops Catherine and Nicholas very well. We get a scene with Catherine was a young girl and then shift later to Nicholas a young boy. They both have their reasons for why they do things, and it was great to see all of that slowly come out throughout the book.
Some of my favorite scenes were the card game, Nicholas rescuing Catherine, and the ending with Catherine forcing Nicholas to read something.
The ending was great, but I won't like, I wish sometimes that Duran would show her leads a few months after we get their HEA's just so see how things have changed.
So Happy Together by Olivia Worley
2.0
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
This was the most confusing book ever. It's mostly following a 20+ year old woman named Jane who is delusional about her 6 date "relationship" with the most basic guy ever named Colin. And we get the longest reveal ever of what sent her running from somewhere years earlier. I think that Worley was going for some twists/reveals to keep you going. But I just found myself bored repeatedly while reading. Don't get me started about the other character we mostly focus on, Zoe.
"So Happy Together" follows Jane who is stalking (there is no other word for it) her ex Colin and his current girlfriend, Zoe. Jane knows that she and Colin have a connection and is upset he dumped her. Now she's focused on showing him what he's missing. When she runs into him and Zoe, Zoe takes a liking to her and now Jane is front and center to their relationship and how she can show Colin she is perfect for him.
No, this is not "You" and even within striking distance of that book. Jane is no Joe people. Jane is just a mess and exhausting. Toss in some murders and other things the book just becomes chaotic. And then we keep getting asides to Ophelia and I have never hated a literary character so much. I just felt like this book was trying to do too many things and it didn't work out in the end. Being in Jane's head as she keeps ignoring every red flag known to man got old real quick.
Colin...for being the center of Jane's world is not interesting at all.
The ending had me going okay then and moving onto something else.
This was the most confusing book ever. It's mostly following a 20+ year old woman named Jane who is delusional about her 6 date "relationship" with the most basic guy ever named Colin. And we get the longest reveal ever of what sent her running from somewhere years earlier. I think that Worley was going for some twists/reveals to keep you going. But I just found myself bored repeatedly while reading. Don't get me started about the other character we mostly focus on, Zoe.
"So Happy Together" follows Jane who is stalking (there is no other word for it) her ex Colin and his current girlfriend, Zoe. Jane knows that she and Colin have a connection and is upset he dumped her. Now she's focused on showing him what he's missing. When she runs into him and Zoe, Zoe takes a liking to her and now Jane is front and center to their relationship and how she can show Colin she is perfect for him.
No, this is not "You" and even within striking distance of that book. Jane is no Joe people. Jane is just a mess and exhausting. Toss in some murders and other things the book just becomes chaotic. And then we keep getting asides to Ophelia and I have never hated a literary character so much. I just felt like this book was trying to do too many things and it didn't work out in the end. Being in Jane's head as she keeps ignoring every red flag known to man got old real quick.
Colin...for being the center of Jane's world is not interesting at all.
The ending had me going okay then and moving onto something else.
I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones
1.0
Please note that I received this via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
Trigger warning: Rape
This was just....not good. I have given Jones 4 stars before, and everything else has been 3, but this one I could not give more than a 1 star rating to. Most of this book makes no sense, it's people being really really dumb, and just twists for twists. That ending was some Lifetime Movie thing. I wish Jones had added a "camera moves away from the house and all you can hear is the sound of X screaming." It was just a mess. I think we needed more insight into the character of Cassie. There was too much happening there in her scenes for me honestly.
"I Would Die For You" follows two women in separate time periods.
Time period one takes place in 2011 with a woman named Nicole Forbes. Nicole lives in CA with her husband and 8 year old daughter. One day, a young woman shows up asking her questions about someone named Ben Edwards who was a member of the biggest band (fictional) in the UK in the 1980s. Nicole refuses to discuss it and then starts to panic when she realizes her young daughter is missing.
Time period two is London in 1986. We mostly follow Cassie, a 16 year old girl who is obsessed with said fictional band and the singer Ben Edwards. Cassie is in love with him and wants to be with him. However, her sister, Nicole, is the one in the family who can sing and when Ben hears her, he starts to pursue her.
I don't know what to say here beyond both Nicole and Cassie are messy people. Both Nicole and Cassie are written poorly IMHO and just selfish. I can see parts of Cassie in the 1980s, but even with some of the things going on, I got really tired of her point of view. Jones also did not develop Nicole's husband or Ben to me at all. They just are stand-ins to keep the plot moving.
The flow between the two time periods did not work. I think because we have Nicole in one, and Nicole and Cassie in the second one. Maybe it would have worked better if it stuck strictly to Cassie's POV so when we get twisty and reveal-ly later it would have worked? Jones usually takes her time setting a scene, but I think starting off with BIG SECRET that takes forever to reveal killed the flow of the book.
The ending was a mess. It just didn't read as finished to me.
Trigger warning: Rape
This was just....not good. I have given Jones 4 stars before, and everything else has been 3, but this one I could not give more than a 1 star rating to. Most of this book makes no sense, it's people being really really dumb, and just twists for twists. That ending was some Lifetime Movie thing. I wish Jones had added a "camera moves away from the house and all you can hear is the sound of X screaming." It was just a mess. I think we needed more insight into the character of Cassie. There was too much happening there in her scenes for me honestly.
"I Would Die For You" follows two women in separate time periods.
Time period one takes place in 2011 with a woman named Nicole Forbes. Nicole lives in CA with her husband and 8 year old daughter. One day, a young woman shows up asking her questions about someone named Ben Edwards who was a member of the biggest band (fictional) in the UK in the 1980s. Nicole refuses to discuss it and then starts to panic when she realizes her young daughter is missing.
Time period two is London in 1986. We mostly follow Cassie, a 16 year old girl who is obsessed with said fictional band and the singer Ben Edwards. Cassie is in love with him and wants to be with him. However, her sister, Nicole, is the one in the family who can sing and when Ben hears her, he starts to pursue her.
I don't know what to say here beyond both Nicole and Cassie are messy people. Both Nicole and Cassie are written poorly IMHO and just selfish. I can see parts of Cassie in the 1980s, but even with some of the things going on, I got really tired of her point of view. Jones also did not develop Nicole's husband or Ben to me at all. They just are stand-ins to keep the plot moving.
The flow between the two time periods did not work. I think because we have Nicole in one, and Nicole and Cassie in the second one. Maybe it would have worked better if it stuck strictly to Cassie's POV so when we get twisty and reveal-ly later it would have worked? Jones usually takes her time setting a scene, but I think starting off with BIG SECRET that takes forever to reveal killed the flow of the book.
The ending was a mess. It just didn't read as finished to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Track Her Down by Melinda Leigh
3.0
I always love the Bree Taggart series, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I think because the ultimate reveals just didn’t make a lot of sense and felt like they came out of nowhere and in the end I just wasn’t left with a good feeling like I usually am in the series.
"Track Her Down" follows Bree and Matt as they work what looks like a home invasion gone wrong. However, the two of them quickly realize something bigger may be going on with the victims.
I do love the Bree Taggert series, I just thought this one, unlike her prior books had some holes in it that I just didn't think got explained. Or at least explained to me in a way that makes sense.
The good, Bree and Matt working together, seeing how much they are a family. Getting our interactions with their friends, family, and coworkers is always a highlight. This one also shifts to focus more on one of the people working for Bree, set up as a potential love interest to someone else that I didn't think quite worked.
The parts that didn't really work was the reveals about certain things and why they happened. I don't want to spoil, but I had a lot of but why, that does not make sense, so no one is going to ask about this comments that I had.
The ending wasn't as strong as prior books I thought, and I know the next book is the last one in the series, so I hope it ends just as well as the Morgan Dane series did.
"Track Her Down" follows Bree and Matt as they work what looks like a home invasion gone wrong. However, the two of them quickly realize something bigger may be going on with the victims.
I do love the Bree Taggert series, I just thought this one, unlike her prior books had some holes in it that I just didn't think got explained. Or at least explained to me in a way that makes sense.
The good, Bree and Matt working together, seeing how much they are a family. Getting our interactions with their friends, family, and coworkers is always a highlight. This one also shifts to focus more on one of the people working for Bree, set up as a potential love interest to someone else that I didn't think quite worked.
The parts that didn't really work was the reveals about certain things and why they happened. I don't want to spoil, but I had a lot of but why, that does not make sense, so no one is going to ask about this comments that I had.
The ending wasn't as strong as prior books I thought, and I know the next book is the last one in the series, so I hope it ends just as well as the Morgan Dane series did.
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman
5.0
A very good historical fiction novel. I just felt sad throughout since you know how this ends.
"When We Flew Away" is a take on Anne Frank's life before she and her family went into hiding and she started documenting everything that was happening in her diary. The book starts off with Anne celebrating her birthday, but also dealing with the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands.
I did love what Hoffman did here, but it's missing her typical "Hoffmaness"--is that a word-- there's no magical realism to be found here. There also seems to be less lyrical writing in this book, except in a few cases. Those are things that I find myself always seeing in her works. That's not a criticism, just wanted to let readers know who have read her before to not go in with different expectations.
You can tell Hoffman did her research on this one, so this is as close I think as a historical fiction book you can get about Anne Frank.
I think with everything happening in the world right now, books like this are very necessary. The audience for this is young adults, but I enjoyed it, even though I am not one.
"When We Flew Away" is a take on Anne Frank's life before she and her family went into hiding and she started documenting everything that was happening in her diary. The book starts off with Anne celebrating her birthday, but also dealing with the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands.
I did love what Hoffman did here, but it's missing her typical "Hoffmaness"--is that a word-- there's no magical realism to be found here. There also seems to be less lyrical writing in this book, except in a few cases. Those are things that I find myself always seeing in her works. That's not a criticism, just wanted to let readers know who have read her before to not go in with different expectations.
You can tell Hoffman did her research on this one, so this is as close I think as a historical fiction book you can get about Anne Frank.
I think with everything happening in the world right now, books like this are very necessary. The audience for this is young adults, but I enjoyed it, even though I am not one.
Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens
3.0
Not bad. I just felt really bored throughout. And I didn’t find the romance between Anna and Will believable due to a total lack of chemistry. I have loved Cousens other books, but this one just didn't do enough for me. I think the bigger issue is that the lead, Anna, is older than Will, and she keeps acting like someone who is not the age she is. She has two kids, a messy ex-husband, and I just didn't gibe that with her obsessing about Will. Probably because Cousens didn't develop Will enough which is a shock, since I have previously found her male heroes very well developed.
"Is She Really Going Out with Him" follows Anna Appleby, who is a columnist at a small paper in Bath. Anna is struggling with her divorce from her husband and his moving on with someone younger, but also with the fact that her job may be on the line due to budget cuts. When Anna is asked to do more in-depth articles about her dating life [non-existent] and her enemy at work, Will, is asked to do a side by side with his dating experiences as well, Anna is not sure it's going to work.
Most of the book though I think is just Anna being irritated by Will (rightfully and wrongly depending). I think Cousens was going for an enemies to lovers trope here, which is many a romance readers favorite things to read, but I just didn't get the enemies thing at all. Will was blah and the stuff he kept doing or was getting up to was just messy and gave me [swear word] boi behavior after a while.
I thought the side stories going on with Anna's daughter and her ex, didn't really move the book along. I thought that Cousens should have swerved at one point with one of the dates that Anna has [which piqued my interest honestly] but we just stuck with Anna and Will.
Not a bad romance book, firmly a 3 star read.
"Is She Really Going Out with Him" follows Anna Appleby, who is a columnist at a small paper in Bath. Anna is struggling with her divorce from her husband and his moving on with someone younger, but also with the fact that her job may be on the line due to budget cuts. When Anna is asked to do more in-depth articles about her dating life [non-existent] and her enemy at work, Will, is asked to do a side by side with his dating experiences as well, Anna is not sure it's going to work.
Most of the book though I think is just Anna being irritated by Will (rightfully and wrongly depending). I think Cousens was going for an enemies to lovers trope here, which is many a romance readers favorite things to read, but I just didn't get the enemies thing at all. Will was blah and the stuff he kept doing or was getting up to was just messy and gave me [swear word] boi behavior after a while.
I thought the side stories going on with Anna's daughter and her ex, didn't really move the book along. I thought that Cousens should have swerved at one point with one of the dates that Anna has [which piqued my interest honestly] but we just stuck with Anna and Will.
Not a bad romance book, firmly a 3 star read.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
5.0
Not a lot to say about this one. I really enjoyed it. I didn't care for Espach's other book, but she managed to hit the perfect combination of drama, comedy, and even hints of romance throughout the book. I really felt for the main character of Phoebe Stone who is still reeling after her husband left and divorced her two years earlier. Watching her slowly come awake due to the insanity of the wedding and all of the people she meets was very good. And I applaud Espach for not going there with the ending. I would have called BS a thousand times over. I love the way this ended with it just feeling very realistic and true to what came before it.
"The Wedding People" follows Phoebe Stone who checks into an inn called the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. Phoebe has plans and they get derailed when she realizes that she's the only person at the inn who is not there to attend a wedding. When the bride to be, Lila, figures that out and what Phoebe has planned, there's a lot of messiness and laughter to go along with Phoebe finding out more about the wedding people while thinking on her former marriage.
I really loved Phoebe as I said earlier, and Lila grew on me. The two of them are different stages, Lila wanting to believe in love and happily ever after and Phoebe wondering about whether she really had a chance to be herself before meeting and falling in love with her ex-husband.
I did enjoy the other characters we get to meet such as Gary, Jim, Juice (do not ask), and heck even Phoebe's ex. The whole book really is about how we get very messy (we are human) but try to be better and just how much easier things would be, if we didn't try to force things that don't feel right.
"The Wedding People" follows Phoebe Stone who checks into an inn called the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island. Phoebe has plans and they get derailed when she realizes that she's the only person at the inn who is not there to attend a wedding. When the bride to be, Lila, figures that out and what Phoebe has planned, there's a lot of messiness and laughter to go along with Phoebe finding out more about the wedding people while thinking on her former marriage.
I really loved Phoebe as I said earlier, and Lila grew on me. The two of them are different stages, Lila wanting to believe in love and happily ever after and Phoebe wondering about whether she really had a chance to be herself before meeting and falling in love with her ex-husband.
I did enjoy the other characters we get to meet such as Gary, Jim, Juice (do not ask), and heck even Phoebe's ex. The whole book really is about how we get very messy (we are human) but try to be better and just how much easier things would be, if we didn't try to force things that don't feel right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt