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shelbybooked's reviews
153 reviews
Common Grounds by Allie Samberts
4.0
This was SOOOOOO COZY! I was smiling the entire time, tbh.
Trevor was dreamy and Emery was a soft lil grump and I was delighted watching them fall for each other. He falls first and he falls FAST and frankly everyone should be looked at by their partner the way Trevor looks at Emery!!!
I really loved reading about a FMC that was my age and who was a little bit messy and damaged. Who can admit to herself that she's lonely. I related her quite a bit, which is hard when all I wanted to do was yell at her to just FALL FOR THE GUY IT'S OKAY!! But that's growing up and letting go of your past damage and I loved how Allie portrayed it.
Trevor was a truly lovely hero!!! I love his silly little hats. His forearms! I love his loyalty to his family's legacy. No one was going to tell him he was losing the shop before he did everything he could to save it. This man fell so fast for Emery it had me giggling.
I cannot thank @alliesambertswrites enough for sending me the ARC!
Common Grounds is out on June 4th!
Trevor was dreamy and Emery was a soft lil grump and I was delighted watching them fall for each other. He falls first and he falls FAST and frankly everyone should be looked at by their partner the way Trevor looks at Emery!!!
I really loved reading about a FMC that was my age and who was a little bit messy and damaged. Who can admit to herself that she's lonely. I related her quite a bit, which is hard when all I wanted to do was yell at her to just FALL FOR THE GUY IT'S OKAY!! But that's growing up and letting go of your past damage and I loved how Allie portrayed it.
Trevor was a truly lovely hero!!! I love his silly little hats. His forearms! I love his loyalty to his family's legacy. No one was going to tell him he was losing the shop before he did everything he could to save it. This man fell so fast for Emery it had me giggling.
I cannot thank @alliesambertswrites enough for sending me the ARC!
Common Grounds is out on June 4th!
Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
I'm sorry but I had to DNF this about halfway through. Mostly, I take issue with a 27 year old parent-trapping her parents??? Ma'am, you're an ADULT. I understand your world being rocked after you've believed something for so long and was a foundation for how you've lived your life but I just cannot suspend my disbelief to an almost 30 year behaving this way.
I enjoyed Colin and Truly but it wasn't enough to keep me in the story. Maybe I'm jaded and it's my own issue but alas.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Colin and Truly but it wasn't enough to keep me in the story. Maybe I'm jaded and it's my own issue but alas.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North
4.75
I absolutely loved this book. I can't say enough good things about it and I'm not even sure where to start! I have such an affinity for established relationships in trouble and I was hooked within the first couple of pages.
Liz and Tobin have been married for almost ten years but have stopped seeing each other for who they are. A separation and improv are the vehicles on which they work together to figure out if they can make their marriage work. For Liz, improv becomes the way in which she tries to become more brave and Likable outside the shadow of her social butterfly husband.
I cried my way through the last third of this book. It left me hopeful and happy and I couldn't help but root for these two separately and together.
Thank you NetGalley and SMP for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Liz and Tobin have been married for almost ten years but have stopped seeing each other for who they are. A separation and improv are the vehicles on which they work together to figure out if they can make their marriage work. For Liz, improv becomes the way in which she tries to become more brave and Likable outside the shadow of her social butterfly husband.
I cried my way through the last third of this book. It left me hopeful and happy and I couldn't help but root for these two separately and together.
Thank you NetGalley and SMP for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn
5.0
Kate Clayborn does something words that makes it nearly impossible to step away from her books.
The Other Side of Disappearing left me breathless. I never wanted it to end. I need to know more and everything else about how Adam, Jess, and Tegan are doing.
I wasn't sure exactly how Kate was going to write another couple l'd love so completely like I do Levi and Georgie. And while I had no doubts she could do it, I'm still reeling. You can't help but root for these two. Adam, our gentle giant, only wanting to honor his best friend in the only way he knows how.
Jess, trying to do everything possible to protect her sister, even if it costs losing herself in the process.
Simply cannot wait to reread this one already. Thank you, Kate, for another masterpiece. I'll be thinking about this one for a while!
The Other Side of Disappearing left me breathless. I never wanted it to end. I need to know more and everything else about how Adam, Jess, and Tegan are doing.
I wasn't sure exactly how Kate was going to write another couple l'd love so completely like I do Levi and Georgie. And while I had no doubts she could do it, I'm still reeling. You can't help but root for these two. Adam, our gentle giant, only wanting to honor his best friend in the only way he knows how.
Jess, trying to do everything possible to protect her sister, even if it costs losing herself in the process.
Simply cannot wait to reread this one already. Thank you, Kate, for another masterpiece. I'll be thinking about this one for a while!
Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws
3.5
Listen, I love me a surrogate story what can i say!!!
i loved the leads and i loved the side characters and i hope they're all so happy up on their lil mountain with their million diff animals 😊
i loved the leads and i loved the side characters and i hope they're all so happy up on their lil mountain with their million diff animals 😊
Love at a Funeral and Other Awkward Conversations by Sophie Andrews
4.75
I really loved this one.
When Cass loses her brother unexpectedly, she's left to pick up the pieces after her parents are too grief-stricken to help her.
Vince is her the funeral director and her brother's best friend from high school that she had a huge crush on but hasn't seen in a few years.
This story is more about grief and learning to live in the new normal after losing someone you love than a love story. However, the love story was important to Cass's journey and I simply adorned the way it was woven into the plot. Vince was a dreamboat and his patience with Cass was so soft and so kind. There was some humor trickled in that I really appreciated, as I definitely have some tendencies toward dark humor.
Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When Cass loses her brother unexpectedly, she's left to pick up the pieces after her parents are too grief-stricken to help her.
Vince is her the funeral director and her brother's best friend from high school that she had a huge crush on but hasn't seen in a few years.
This story is more about grief and learning to live in the new normal after losing someone you love than a love story. However, the love story was important to Cass's journey and I simply adorned the way it was woven into the plot. Vince was a dreamboat and his patience with Cass was so soft and so kind. There was some humor trickled in that I really appreciated, as I definitely have some tendencies toward dark humor.
Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Malibu Summer: A Novel by Libby Gill
2.0
This book follows Conner and Ivy, a widower and a widow trying to move on from their grief. I loved how they helped each other heal throughout the story and that their shared experiences was the base for their relationship.
I had a hard time with this one from the beginning, mostly due to the writing. I think a first person POV really would have helped this story.
I really wanted to love this book because a sad MMC with a kid is right up my alley but I couldn't get past the dialogue when the adults were talking to him like he was 10 instead of 4.
Thanks to Penguin House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I had a hard time with this one from the beginning, mostly due to the writing. I think a first person POV really would have helped this story.
I really wanted to love this book because a sad MMC with a kid is right up my alley but I couldn't get past the dialogue when the adults were talking to him like he was 10 instead of 4.
Thanks to Penguin House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The False Flat by Melissa Collings
4.0
Oh this one stunned and moved me more than I was expecting.
Penelope is starting over at a new job in a new city after a series of events sends her running from her ex and her job.
Immediately at the start of this book, I felt a kinship with Pen. The way she (doesn't) deal with emotions and her lack of self worth hit close to home and I absolutely loved seeing her growth throughout the book. I loved Grant. Wonderful delightful Grant. I loved his humor and his views on the world. I loved having a seat to their love story.
I also throughly enjoyed the side characters and the way Deanna and Pen got closer and built the foundation they needed by the end of the book.
I will be thinking about this one for a while!
Thank you Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Penelope is starting over at a new job in a new city after a series of events sends her running from her ex and her job.
Immediately at the start of this book, I felt a kinship with Pen. The way she (doesn't) deal with emotions and her lack of self worth hit close to home and I absolutely loved seeing her growth throughout the book. I loved Grant. Wonderful delightful Grant. I loved his humor and his views on the world. I loved having a seat to their love story.
I also throughly enjoyed the side characters and the way Deanna and Pen got closer and built the foundation they needed by the end of the book.
I will be thinking about this one for a while!
Thank you Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Love, Julie by Jamie Anderson
3.5
Love, Julie follows Julie in the fallout of breaking her sobriety streak at her brother and best friend’s engagement party.
The books starts off with Julie on her way to her first AA meeting after falling off the bandwagon. Luke is also at the AA meeting as support for his friend. From there, we follow them as they co-plan Ben and Kate’s wedding as a favor, and for Julie, a way to prove to them that she’s more than her addiction.
My favorite parts of this story had to do with Julie’s recovery and the steps she took to better herself. There’s always something to be said for vulnerability and grit, especially in such a flawed FMC. Luke was a fresh of breath air, even if like Julie, his constant positivity was a bit too much for me in the beginning. But his softness and kindness melted my own cold heart so it’s no surprise he softened Julie as well.
I think the characters felt younger than they were and it kept throwing me off, especially with Julia’s alcoholism. It wasn’t anything too major but it’s what I kept coming back to in my mind as I was reading it.
Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The books starts off with Julie on her way to her first AA meeting after falling off the bandwagon. Luke is also at the AA meeting as support for his friend. From there, we follow them as they co-plan Ben and Kate’s wedding as a favor, and for Julie, a way to prove to them that she’s more than her addiction.
My favorite parts of this story had to do with Julie’s recovery and the steps she took to better herself. There’s always something to be said for vulnerability and grit, especially in such a flawed FMC. Luke was a fresh of breath air, even if like Julie, his constant positivity was a bit too much for me in the beginning. But his softness and kindness melted my own cold heart so it’s no surprise he softened Julie as well.
I think the characters felt younger than they were and it kept throwing me off, especially with Julia’s alcoholism. It wasn’t anything too major but it’s what I kept coming back to in my mind as I was reading it.
Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rootbound by Tarah DeWitt
5.0
mostly if i had any money to offer tarah id give her all of it but as it stands, im a preschool teacher so i have nothing to my name, but whatever the point is, id lie my life on the line for tarah and the stories she can weave together so beautifully