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stephsnextread's Reviews (390)
“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦.”
After loving the book Every Summer After but not loving Charlie Florek, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book (and if you haven’t read Every Summer After, I highly recommend reading it before this book). Let me tell you, Charlie 100% redeemed himself!
Alice is a photographer who is at a crossroads in her career. She has the opportunity to spend the summer with her grandmother at a lake cabin. When she arrives, she realizes that the man managing the property is actually one of the people in her favorite photo she took as a teenager. Alice is self-sufficient, competent, and reliable. She doesn’t ask for help or waste people’s time. When Charlie shows up, his overly flirty and funny personality brings Alice out of her shell. There’s even flirting through a to-do list which was so endearing. I loved how they slowly got to know each other, becoming friends and bringing out the best in each other. I also adored Alice’s Nan and her spunky personality.
The whole time I read this book, I was torn between wanting to binge it and wanting it to last forever. This is one of my favorites books of the year so far and I highly recommend it. It is the perfect beach read for this summer!
Read if you like:
💕 Summer lake cabin settings
💕 Serendipitous meetings
💕 Summer bucket lists
💕 Sweet grandparent relationships
After loving the book Every Summer After but not loving Charlie Florek, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book (and if you haven’t read Every Summer After, I highly recommend reading it before this book). Let me tell you, Charlie 100% redeemed himself!
Alice is a photographer who is at a crossroads in her career. She has the opportunity to spend the summer with her grandmother at a lake cabin. When she arrives, she realizes that the man managing the property is actually one of the people in her favorite photo she took as a teenager. Alice is self-sufficient, competent, and reliable. She doesn’t ask for help or waste people’s time. When Charlie shows up, his overly flirty and funny personality brings Alice out of her shell. There’s even flirting through a to-do list which was so endearing. I loved how they slowly got to know each other, becoming friends and bringing out the best in each other. I also adored Alice’s Nan and her spunky personality.
The whole time I read this book, I was torn between wanting to binge it and wanting it to last forever. This is one of my favorites books of the year so far and I highly recommend it. It is the perfect beach read for this summer!
Read if you like:
💕 Summer lake cabin settings
💕 Serendipitous meetings
💕 Summer bucket lists
💕 Sweet grandparent relationships
Lula Dean is on a mission to rid her small town of all “inappropriate” books (which she hasn’t actually read). She builds a little free library in her yard and fills them with books she deems appropriate. Little does she know that someone in her town has switched all her books with banned books (and put the dust jackets of Lula’s books over them to keep it a secret). It turns out this might be just what the town needs.
I loved the messages of this book so much! There is a very large cast of characters representing all of the views in town. At first, when each of the early chapters was about a new family, I was worried it would be too many characters to keep track of. However, their stories all ended up meshing together perfectly. Each of the characters who picked up a banned book from Lula’s library had their life impacted in one way or another, and I loved how each one also ended up impacting the town. This book tackles significant issues such as racism, antisemitism, homophobia, and misogyny. The author handles these topics sensitively, while also including humor and heartwarming moments.
I have read many of the real banned books mentioned, and I’m even more inspired to read more of them now. I highly recommend this book!
Read if you like:
📘 Little free libraries
📘 Reading banned books
📘 Large casts of interesting characters
📘 Small towns
I loved the messages of this book so much! There is a very large cast of characters representing all of the views in town. At first, when each of the early chapters was about a new family, I was worried it would be too many characters to keep track of. However, their stories all ended up meshing together perfectly. Each of the characters who picked up a banned book from Lula’s library had their life impacted in one way or another, and I loved how each one also ended up impacting the town. This book tackles significant issues such as racism, antisemitism, homophobia, and misogyny. The author handles these topics sensitively, while also including humor and heartwarming moments.
I have read many of the real banned books mentioned, and I’m even more inspired to read more of them now. I highly recommend this book!
Read if you like:
📘 Little free libraries
📘 Reading banned books
📘 Large casts of interesting characters
📘 Small towns
This is book #3 in The Brown Sisters series of interconnected standalones by Talia Hibbert. The first two were great and I highly recommend them, but I think this one is my favorite of the series!
Eve (FMC) is just so spunky and honest. She had me laughing right from the start. She’s a hot mess, and everything she does seems to go wrong! When she interviews for a chef position at a B & B, owner Jacob is taken aback. He is serious and always in control. He tells Eve he will absolutely not hire her for the position, and then…she accidentally hits him with her car 🤦🏼♀️ Nothing ever goes right for her! Now Jacob is hurt and desperate and forced to hire Eve after all.
I absolutely loved the dynamic between Eve and Jacob. It was the perfect opposites-attract story, and there was such great banter! I appreciated Jacob’s open discussions about being autistic, and I loved Eve’s self-discovery journey. I highly recommend this one!
Read if you like:
💕 Enemies to lovers
💕 Grumpy x sunshine
💕 Opposites attract
💕 Autism rep
This is the 5th book in the Meant to Be series, which is a collection of modern-day Disney Princess retellings, each by a different author.
Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies, so I was excited for this one. I enjoyed parts of it, but some of it fell flat for me. Knowing the Disney story, I was worried about how realistic the storyline would be with Mulan pretending to be a man. Actually, this was one of the things that worked for me!
I really enjoyed the hurdles that Mulan had to jump to prove herself. The book mostly took place at the family ranch that belongs to the highly traditional family who owns the whiskey distillery that Mulan’s company is trying to acquire. Mulan had many funny adventures on the ranch, including cattle wrangling, that made me laugh. Mushu obviously wasn’t a dragon, but was Mulan’s spunky cousin who tagged along to the ranch and added additional humor. I also loved the insight into Chinese traditions, and the food descriptions made my mouth water!
The romance is really what fell flat to me. If I had picked this up expecting a women’s fiction book about Mulan’s career journey, I think I would’ve really enjoyed this book. There just wasn’t enough about the relationship for me. It was a slowwwww burn, and since it’s single POV, we know Mulan is wildly attracted to Shang but we get nothing back from him for so long. Over 50% of the book had no romance between the two of them, and then it raced forward really quickly, kind of skipping steps along the way. I felt like we learned more about their relationship in her heartbroken reflections after the third act breakup than in the whole rest of the book. I do think this book could work for other readers, so pick it up if it sounds like your kind of book!
Thank you to Jesse Q. Sutanto, Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
💕 Disney retellings
💕 Forbidden romance
💕 Slow burn
💕 Secret identity
💕 Chinese traditions and cuisine
💕 Fade-to-black romance
The stunning cover is what initially drew me to this book, but I’m so glad it did because the story was just as beautiful! I absolutely loved it!
The book hooked me right away with the drama of two sisters arriving simultaneously at their father’s vacation cabin after his death, but only one sister knew of the others’ existence. Vivian and Lucy are both struggling in their own ways, and they both felt so real and raw. They decide to spend the summer together at the cabin. The way their relationship builds is painful at times, but so captivating. Both women also have complicated romantic relationships. While this book is not a romance, I enjoyed that the romance sub-plots were included because they gave a full picture of each woman’s life.
This is a book about grief and loss, family relationships, privilege, forgiveness, and new beginnings. It is an emotional but heartwarming read that I highly recommend!
Thank you to Hannah Orenstein, Dutton, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
💕 Family secrets
💕 Lake vacations
💕 Maine cabin setting
💕 The Parent Trap
The book hooked me right away with the drama of two sisters arriving simultaneously at their father’s vacation cabin after his death, but only one sister knew of the others’ existence. Vivian and Lucy are both struggling in their own ways, and they both felt so real and raw. They decide to spend the summer together at the cabin. The way their relationship builds is painful at times, but so captivating. Both women also have complicated romantic relationships. While this book is not a romance, I enjoyed that the romance sub-plots were included because they gave a full picture of each woman’s life.
This is a book about grief and loss, family relationships, privilege, forgiveness, and new beginnings. It is an emotional but heartwarming read that I highly recommend!
Thank you to Hannah Orenstein, Dutton, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
💕 Family secrets
💕 Lake vacations
💕 Maine cabin setting
💕 The Parent Trap
This was such a great summer read! Bex owns a racquet club in a California desert town that is mostly retired folks. Since losing her mom to cancer, the club has been struggling financially. It’s perfect timing that tennis bad boy Niko needs to use her courts for a while, which just may end up being beneficial for both of them.
I loved the banter between Niko and Bex, and there was so much pickleball innuendo! I’m not a pickleball player, so there’s no need to understand the game in order to love this book. The enemies set-up at the beginning was so good that I hated Niko for a while too and was worried that I wouldn’t end up rooting for them as a couple. My worries were for nothing because Niko ended up being the sweetest caregiving human underneath his prickly exterior, and I loved seeing him help Bex break down some of her walls too. I thought some of the pacing was off and that we were missing a little of the transition from enemies to lovers, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. I loved that there was emotion, grief and depth, and that it was well balanced with humor and wit. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun summer romance!
Thank you to Kate Spencer, Forever, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
💕 Racquet club owner x pro tennis player
💕 Enemies to lovers
💕 Fake dating
💕 Found family
I loved the banter between Niko and Bex, and there was so much pickleball innuendo! I’m not a pickleball player, so there’s no need to understand the game in order to love this book. The enemies set-up at the beginning was so good that I hated Niko for a while too and was worried that I wouldn’t end up rooting for them as a couple. My worries were for nothing because Niko ended up being the sweetest caregiving human underneath his prickly exterior, and I loved seeing him help Bex break down some of her walls too. I thought some of the pacing was off and that we were missing a little of the transition from enemies to lovers, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. I loved that there was emotion, grief and depth, and that it was well balanced with humor and wit. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun summer romance!
Thank you to Kate Spencer, Forever, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
💕 Racquet club owner x pro tennis player
💕 Enemies to lovers
💕 Fake dating
💕 Found family
Juliana Ryan is back to work after her husband dies unexpectedly. She overhears her colleague, Ben Thomas, talking about how her kids will keep her from doing her job. Two years later, their feud is still going and they are forced into a project together. I loved that this book features a single mom FMC with 5 year old and 7 year old kids. The portrayal of parenthood was so honest!
Juliana and Ben have top tier banter and tension! I loved their progression from rivals to lovers. I do have to say though, I hated the third act drama (I’m being vague on purpose to avoid spoiling minor earlier details). I understood the character’s motivations, but it was still really frustrating. Despite my problems with the drama, I loved how the book ended and I definitely recommend it!
The audiobook was narrated by Charlotte North, and she was a great match for Juliana’s character. I really enjoyed the audiobook!
Read if you like:
💕 Workplace romance
💕 Rivals to lovers
💕 Forced proximity
💕 Single mom FMCs
💕 Realistic kid characters
Juliana and Ben have top tier banter and tension! I loved their progression from rivals to lovers. I do have to say though, I hated the third act drama (I’m being vague on purpose to avoid spoiling minor earlier details). I understood the character’s motivations, but it was still really frustrating. Despite my problems with the drama, I loved how the book ended and I definitely recommend it!
The audiobook was narrated by Charlotte North, and she was a great match for Juliana’s character. I really enjoyed the audiobook!
Read if you like:
💕 Workplace romance
💕 Rivals to lovers
💕 Forced proximity
💕 Single mom FMCs
💕 Realistic kid characters
Grant and Helen know each other from high school, where a traumatic event tied their lives together forever (check content warnings if needed). Now, thirteen years later, they are working as writers on the same TV show. Even though her parents hate him, they find themselves drawn toward each other.
I expected to like this book more than I did, as I usually like books with an emotional undertone. Unfortunately, it didn’t keep my attention for some parts. I did like the insight into TV show writing rooms, and I enjoyed Grant and Helen working through their feelings on their trips back to their hometown. However, I felt that the book was a little heavy on spice, when I wanted more of the emotional connection between the two of them. While it wasn’t a win for me, I know many readers have loved it, so please check it out if it sounds like your kind of book.
Read if you like:
💕 Workplace romance
💕 Forbidden romance
💕 Forced proximity
💕 Books about writers
💕 Dual POV
I expected to like this book more than I did, as I usually like books with an emotional undertone. Unfortunately, it didn’t keep my attention for some parts. I did like the insight into TV show writing rooms, and I enjoyed Grant and Helen working through their feelings on their trips back to their hometown. However, I felt that the book was a little heavy on spice, when I wanted more of the emotional connection between the two of them. While it wasn’t a win for me, I know many readers have loved it, so please check it out if it sounds like your kind of book.
Read if you like:
💕 Workplace romance
💕 Forbidden romance
💕 Forced proximity
💕 Books about writers
💕 Dual POV
