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stephsnextread's Reviews (390)
This was a bittersweet, beautiful story about healing and figuring out how to more forward after loss.
Maddie’s brother (her only close family member) passed away after a battle with cancer. He left letters for his loved ones, and Maddie’s letter sends her to scatter his ashes in eight locations he never got to visit…with his best friend, Dominic…who broke Maddie’s heart years ago.
I loved that this book was spread out over a couple years. It allowed the trips to happen over an appropriate amount of time, and it also allowed the relationship between Maddie and Dom to develop slowly and realistically. Maddie was such a relatable character. Everyone in her past has left her, and she had her guard way up. I loved her journey of allowing Dom to break down her walls, and her realization that maybe she was pushing him away instead. Dominic started out pretty stoic, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like him, but he opened up and became the sweetest man to Maddie. This book made me laugh, cry, and feel all the feels over Maddie and Dom’s journey.
I absolutely loved Karissa Vacker’s narration. She was the perfect voice for Maddie’s POV, and her voices for the other characters were well done too. I highly recommend this audiobook for anyone looking for a romance that also explores deeper topics.
Read if you like:
💕 (Late) brother’s best friend
💕 Second chance romance
💕 Forced proximity
💕 Witty banter
Maddie’s brother (her only close family member) passed away after a battle with cancer. He left letters for his loved ones, and Maddie’s letter sends her to scatter his ashes in eight locations he never got to visit…with his best friend, Dominic…who broke Maddie’s heart years ago.
I loved that this book was spread out over a couple years. It allowed the trips to happen over an appropriate amount of time, and it also allowed the relationship between Maddie and Dom to develop slowly and realistically. Maddie was such a relatable character. Everyone in her past has left her, and she had her guard way up. I loved her journey of allowing Dom to break down her walls, and her realization that maybe she was pushing him away instead. Dominic started out pretty stoic, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like him, but he opened up and became the sweetest man to Maddie. This book made me laugh, cry, and feel all the feels over Maddie and Dom’s journey.
I absolutely loved Karissa Vacker’s narration. She was the perfect voice for Maddie’s POV, and her voices for the other characters were well done too. I highly recommend this audiobook for anyone looking for a romance that also explores deeper topics.
Read if you like:
💕 (Late) brother’s best friend
💕 Second chance romance
💕 Forced proximity
💕 Witty banter
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”
This was such an emotional story, and I loved every minute of it. The book starts off with a hilarious meet-cute between veterinarian Xavier and cat-mom Samantha involving discussion of poop chutes, which I know was too much for some readers, but it made me laugh so hard! Xavier and Samantha end up going on the best first date of all time, which made me root for them right from the start.
The book is very different from the typical romance storyline. Because of the amazing first date, there is insta-love (which I usually hate), but it totally made sense to me. The conflict comes in the fact that Samantha is moving across the country the next day to help care for her mother, and neither of them wants to do long distance. I felt so much for Samantha, her mom, and the rest of her family for all they were dealing with regarding her mom’s dementia. There was such a juxtaposition between Samantha’s happiness with Xavier and her sadness and struggles with her mom. While the constant changes in her mom were devastating, Samantha gained insight about how important it was to have someone to witness her day to day life, and that Xavier was that person, no matter how hard they both tried to let the other go. This was a beautiful story of love, loss, and connection, and it will stick with me for a long time.
Read if you like:
💕 Dual POV
💕 Amazing first dates
💕 Lovable pet characters
💕 Emotional romance stories
💕 Right person, wrong time
This was such an emotional story, and I loved every minute of it. The book starts off with a hilarious meet-cute between veterinarian Xavier and cat-mom Samantha involving discussion of poop chutes, which I know was too much for some readers, but it made me laugh so hard! Xavier and Samantha end up going on the best first date of all time, which made me root for them right from the start.
The book is very different from the typical romance storyline. Because of the amazing first date, there is insta-love (which I usually hate), but it totally made sense to me. The conflict comes in the fact that Samantha is moving across the country the next day to help care for her mother, and neither of them wants to do long distance. I felt so much for Samantha, her mom, and the rest of her family for all they were dealing with regarding her mom’s dementia. There was such a juxtaposition between Samantha’s happiness with Xavier and her sadness and struggles with her mom. While the constant changes in her mom were devastating, Samantha gained insight about how important it was to have someone to witness her day to day life, and that Xavier was that person, no matter how hard they both tried to let the other go. This was a beautiful story of love, loss, and connection, and it will stick with me for a long time.
Read if you like:
💕 Dual POV
💕 Amazing first dates
💕 Lovable pet characters
💕 Emotional romance stories
💕 Right person, wrong time
“𝘉𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳…𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵.”
Twenty-something Lucy is going through it! She is slugging through work, trying to get a promotion, and living with inconsiderate roommates. She makes a wish to skip to the “good part” of her life, and wakes up sixteen years later with no memory of what happened in between. All of a sudden, she has the life of her dreams: a gorgeous husband, two children, and a dream job. The problem is that she doesn’t know anything about her new life or being a wife and a mom!
This book was so thought-provoking! Lucy is constantly debating whether, if given the choice, she would rather stay in this perfect life without her memories or return to her younger self, hoping it would all work out the same. Lucy’s adventures re-learning her new life were hilarious! I absolutely loved her son, Felix, who is really the only one who believes Lucy’s story. Lucy’s struggles as she learned how to be a mom were so relatable. There are some romantic moments, but it was really more of Lucy’s story. I definitely recommend this one!
Read if you like:
💕 Magical realism
💕 Time travel
💕 Self-discovery journeys
💕 13 Going On 30
Twenty-something Lucy is going through it! She is slugging through work, trying to get a promotion, and living with inconsiderate roommates. She makes a wish to skip to the “good part” of her life, and wakes up sixteen years later with no memory of what happened in between. All of a sudden, she has the life of her dreams: a gorgeous husband, two children, and a dream job. The problem is that she doesn’t know anything about her new life or being a wife and a mom!
This book was so thought-provoking! Lucy is constantly debating whether, if given the choice, she would rather stay in this perfect life without her memories or return to her younger self, hoping it would all work out the same. Lucy’s adventures re-learning her new life were hilarious! I absolutely loved her son, Felix, who is really the only one who believes Lucy’s story. Lucy’s struggles as she learned how to be a mom were so relatable. There are some romantic moments, but it was really more of Lucy’s story. I definitely recommend this one!
Read if you like:
💕 Magical realism
💕 Time travel
💕 Self-discovery journeys
💕 13 Going On 30
This is Abbi Waxman’s first mystery, and it was funny and entertaining! A body is found in an alcoholic actress’s pool, and she is the main suspect. Unfortunately, she blacked out and can’t remember a thing…except that she didn’t do it. Since the police already think she’s guilty and aren’t putting much effort into investigating other suspects, she and her assistant (who is also her AA sponsor) decide to solve the case themselves!
I really enjoyed that this mystery was set in Hollywood. It was a fun look into the wild lives of celebrities. There was so much action packed into the story, especially toward the end. The characters were always zooming frantically in a fast car, and the pace really kept me turning pages, needing to get to the next clue.
I struggled a little with the number of characters to keep track of (I wish I had kept a list!), and I had a hard time connecting with both of the main characters. However, I appreciated the realistic representation of alcoholism and addiction, as well as the relationship that developed between the main characters. The ending kept me guessing, and I was hooked the whole time. I recommend this book if you’re looking for a funny and adventurous mystery!
Thank you to Berkley for the gifted copy; all opinions are my own.
Thank you to Berkley for the gifted copy; all opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
🔎 Cozy mysteries
🔎 Books about celebrities
🔎 Eccentric characters
🔎 Fast-paced stories
This was my first book by this author, and it was such a clever, unique book! There is a small romance plot, but I would say it focuses mostly on the mystery. There is a pretty large cast of characters, and they were all very interesting (and lots of them were suspicious!). The main character, Jess, was so relatable and real. She had to deal with a lot of toxicity, and she handled it like a professional!
The book took a while to build up to the mystery, but once it did, I was hooked! The remote spa with no cell service was the perfect setting. It starts out feeling peaceful and serene, but when Jess finds a dead body, the spa immediately feels creepy and dangerous. The mystery kept me guessing all the way to the end, and it was so entertaining. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an engaging cozy mystery with a bit of romance!
Thank you to Molly Harper, Berkley, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; opinions are my own.
The book took a while to build up to the mystery, but once it did, I was hooked! The remote spa with no cell service was the perfect setting. It starts out feeling peaceful and serene, but when Jess finds a dead body, the spa immediately feels creepy and dangerous. The mystery kept me guessing all the way to the end, and it was so entertaining. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an engaging cozy mystery with a bit of romance!
Thank you to Molly Harper, Berkley, and NetGalley for this e-ARC; opinions are my own.
"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. '𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺.'
𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩. '𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.'"
This was my first historical romance (not counting the Bridgerton show), and it was so much fun! I absolutely love female characters who push the boundaries a little. Lady Selina Ravenscroft sure did that by secretly owning an erotic library, which was enjoyed by much of the women of the ton. I very much enjoyed this plot point and watching how Selina navigated the secret.
The Duke of Stanhope, Peter Kent, was such a great character too! He was so caring, and his sole focus was getting custody of his half siblings. In order for this to happen, he needed to be an upstanding Duke, so Selina decided he should be married and she would help him find a wife. Along the way, Peter and Selina’s chemistry was magnetic. I appreciated how he celebrated her every step of the way, and she fought with everything she had for his family. I loved all of the wit, humor, and scandal in this book! The side characters were equally endearing, and I am looking forward to the other books in this series!
The book is narrated by Mhairi Morrison, whose voice was perfect. The story is told in 3rd person, dual POV. Mhairi voices both parts, and she did such a great job (except there were occasional lines for Peter in the southern American accent that felt a little over the top). I loved listening instead of reading with my eyes because the British accent makes it feel so authentic. I highly recommend the audio of this one!
Read if you like:
💕 Regency romance
💕 Matchmaking
💕 A scandalous library
💕 Friends to lovers
𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩. '𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.'"
This was my first historical romance (not counting the Bridgerton show), and it was so much fun! I absolutely love female characters who push the boundaries a little. Lady Selina Ravenscroft sure did that by secretly owning an erotic library, which was enjoyed by much of the women of the ton. I very much enjoyed this plot point and watching how Selina navigated the secret.
The Duke of Stanhope, Peter Kent, was such a great character too! He was so caring, and his sole focus was getting custody of his half siblings. In order for this to happen, he needed to be an upstanding Duke, so Selina decided he should be married and she would help him find a wife. Along the way, Peter and Selina’s chemistry was magnetic. I appreciated how he celebrated her every step of the way, and she fought with everything she had for his family. I loved all of the wit, humor, and scandal in this book! The side characters were equally endearing, and I am looking forward to the other books in this series!
The book is narrated by Mhairi Morrison, whose voice was perfect. The story is told in 3rd person, dual POV. Mhairi voices both parts, and she did such a great job (except there were occasional lines for Peter in the southern American accent that felt a little over the top). I loved listening instead of reading with my eyes because the British accent makes it feel so authentic. I highly recommend the audio of this one!
Read if you like:
💕 Regency romance
💕 Matchmaking
💕 A scandalous library
💕 Friends to lovers
I wanted to like this book but it just didn’t work for me. It kept my curiosity and interest well enough for me to finish the book, but I have a lot of gripes.
There were many characters to keep track of, which probably would’ve been easier if I had read the first book (I didn’t realize it was a series before reading, which was my mistake). Aisling, the niece, was probably my favorite character, but it took me too long to figure out that they also call her Ash (I thought they were two separate people).
The MMC was so unlikable in the beginning (I mean, he actually stated that he was using the FMC) that I didn’t think he would actually be the love interest. The FMC was irritating in her own right. Her entire family was filled with witches that each have a special power, and she didn't believe any of them simply because she had never had any of her own powers. She was so anti-magic that it was off-putting and confusing.
Now let’s talk romance. As I was reading, I was confused about the romance plot in general (I just kept thinking “Is this a romance? No, it must not be. Wait, maybe it is a romance? Where is the romance?”).There was no true romance until late in the book, and it was not believable or swoonworthy. I didn’t feel as though the MMC ever redeemed himself; the FMC just kind of decided what he did was fine. It was hard to understand her reasoning other than physical attraction.
And the ending!? The ending was a wild ride. I’m not sure I enjoyed it, but the chaos was kind of a hilarious gift and I am glad I stuck it out to the end. I don’t think I’ll finish this series, but I would try other books from this author.
Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC; opinions are my own.
This is the charming sequel to Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. In the first book, 60-something tea shop owner Vera Wong walks into her tea shop one day to discover a dead body on the ground. The police take too long solving the case, so Vera decides to solve it herself. I loved the first book and highly recommend reading it first to fully understand the characters.
Now that Vera is a “professional” murder solver, she’s bored without a case to solve. Luckily for her, she stumbles upon an open case right outside the police station. Now she has something to do!
Vera is such a charismatic character! She’s in her sixties (and realizes that 60 is the new 40), but she plays up her elderliness and innocence. She made me laugh so many times in this book and I want to be one of her adopted granddaughters! Vera shows her love through food, and everything she makes sounds so delicious!
The mystery was different enough from the first book to keep me hooked and guessing the whole time. It brings in a new cast of characters (in addition to appearances of characters from the first book), and each character is lovable and suspicious at the same time. Most of the book is light and fun (but it does touch on some serious topics that could be triggers but also spoilers so I won’t mention them here). I enjoyed every minute of this book and highly recommend it (as well as the first book in the series)!
Thank you to Jesse Q. Sutanto, Berkley, and NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC; all opinions are my own.
Read if you like:
▫️Cozy mysteries
▫️Chinese food
▫️Quirky characters
▫️Older generations navigating social media
▫️Found family
▫️Multiple POVs
This book was such a fun change of pace! It took me about 50 pages to figure out what was going on, but then I flew through the rest of it. I loved that there was so much plot in this book, along with lovable characters and signature Ali Hazelwood spice (plus knotting, iykyk). Lowe’s kid sister, Ana, was such a fun character and I loved how she instantly latched on to Misery, when no other werewolves would.
The disappearance of Misery’s best friend and her resulting search really kept the book going for me. I enjoyed the slow burn between Misery and Lowe, but the mystery was more compelling to me. I loved the twists that kept the story interesting, and I loved how Misery learned to work with the werewolves to get closer to finding her friend. The sequel to this book (Mate) is releasing on 10/7/25 and I am so excited to continue reading about this world!
Read if you like:
🖤 Paranormal romance
🖤 Vampire coder FMC x werewolf architect MMC
🖤 Arranged marriage
🖤 Enemies to lovers
🖤 A hint of mystery/suspense
🖤 Found family