vlaniganfoffimreading's reviews
838 reviews

Collide by Bal Khabra

4.0

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks  @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

A fun hockey romance always seems to start with enemies to lovers and boy does Summer really dislike Aiden but it makes it all the sweeter when they eventually fall in love. I loved seeing this couple grow seperate and together from college to adults. This book had such a sweet epilogue that had me cheering for these two!

Very Bad Company by Emma Rosenblum

4.0

Huge thank you to @macmillian.audio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

This is a story of adults behaving badly, very badly. A Tech company that is on the verge of even bigger and better things is trying to keep a mystery under wraps. When one of their high level executives vanish after the first night of their retreat they need to keep this hushed up. This is a bit of a mystery and a whole lot of greed! This one is best to go in blind. 

A Wedding in Lake Como by Jennifer Probst

4.0

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks  @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

This book will take you on a journey. I mean look at this cover! Three college best friends made a vow to each other. They vowed that no matter where they are in their own life they will be there for each wedding. 

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Ava, Madison and Chelsea thought they would always be the best of friends but then something tore them apart. Now  Ava is getting married and the pact stands. The three reunite in Italy and maybe old wounds can be healed once and for all. 

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If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay

5.0

This is a summer thriller that is right up my alley. I love a book that tells separate stories that are intricately woven and when it all came together it blew my mind!

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Ryan Richardson has spent the last five years reliving the night that his girlfriend  was taken. After much suspicion that he was involved he started a new life, with a new name and law school. He’s a law student on a trip in Italy when he gets the call that Ali’s car has been found submerged in water, with no Ali. Instead, two dead men and a note. When he sees the man that haunts his dreams he knows his nightmare has become a reality. 

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Somehow his new reality will include a young sheriff deputy from Kansas and a monster from Philadelphia who’s living his own nightmare. 

I don’t want to say too much but I couldn’t stop reading this one! This one is out today!

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Mind Games by Nora Roberts

5.0

Huge thank you to @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Nora Roberts is forever my comfort read and this didn’t disappoint! Bonus points for the family last name being Lannigan. While it’s spelled different it’s pronounced the same. It was fun hearing it in the audiobook!

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Every June Thea and her brother travel to Kentucky to stay with their grandmother. When one night Thea and her grandma Lucy woke up with the same nightmare and they soon realize their “gift” showed them the murders of Thea’s parents and Lucy’s daughter and son in law. Thanks to Thea’s “gift” she was able to see the killer and he is behind bars but he also has a “gift” and the two are in a mental fight.

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I really loved the characters of Lucy and Thea. Roberts books always fleshes out an entire world and characters to root for! 

Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins

5.0

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks  @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Lark was valedictorian so it’s no surprise she had a checklist for her life. Become an oncologist, have a loving marriage and become a mom, but nothing is going to plan. When her emotions consistently get in the way she is moved out of oncology and her parents are splitting up. She feels totally lost but when Dr. Satan, excuse me Dr. Santini offers up an arrangement she accepts. He wants her to come as his “date” to his sister’s wedding so his Noni (grandmother) sees him happy and he will help get her back to oncology. Lark immediately falls in love with his entire family.

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I don’t want to say too much because I have read a lot of fake dating and they typically go one way but this one didn’t! Also, don’t let the cover fool you this is not a lighthearted rom com. This focuses on the lives of three women, Lark, her mom and Lark’s landlady Joy. This is a story about growth, forgiveness, and love all done in one beautiful summer!

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Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni

4.0

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks  @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Star crossed love, well, more like families who are business rivals, but when Ellie and Vanya meet and sparks fly they don’t realize that. They met at a food packing conference where, a Super Bowl commercial is on the line as well as their families very businesses. They couldn’t believe how much they have in common. They were both from the same city, Armenian and families are in the food business, until they realize their families are sworn enemies. This was a fun one plus I love when a book is set in Chicago.

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

5.0

Huge thank you to @prhaudio for an advanced gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This has been one of my most anticipated books of the summer and it didn’t disappoint. Crazy Rich Asians will forever be one of my fave, fun reads. Kwan delivers another wildly, fun book detailing the lives of the rich and famous and what they will do to stay on top. This globetrotting romp travels all over the world all in the quest of money, marriage and perhaps love. 

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Pack this one for vacation or if you are not going anywhere you can read this and pretend you’re there, especially with the gorgeous description of the multiple locations. This one comes out on Tuesday!

The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

5.0

Huge thank you to @prhaudio for an advanced gifted audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Guncle is back!! This time he’s on a globetrotting journey with the kids while still doling out life advice along the way. Some of this life advice is literally life changing and others are bits of trivia 

that had me chuckling. Patrick’s brother, the dad of Maisie and Grant is getting married and the kids are struggling. Patrick has a big task at hand teaching the kids about love. I was crying laughing as he mused about how he could teach them about love. See below.

“There was a person named Big?” “Yes! Well, Mr. Big. Big was his last name. He rescued Carrie after she was kidnapped by Mikhail Baryshnikov.” “Was he a pirate?” Grant asked. Patrick took in their blank faces. How would he get them to understand love if he couldn’t get them to appreciate Carrie and Big?“

My favorite thing about Rowley’s writing is his keen attention to detail, his humor and wit, while consistently making me feel all the feelings. Yes, I’m always wiping away tears at the end of his books but his books are truly heartwarming and this definitely is!

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The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry

4.0

Huge thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for an advanced gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

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A foreboding tale surrounding a Gothic Chicago mansion and the horror movie props living in said mansion. Harry is a single mom, working as a cleaning lady for famed horror film director Javier Castillo. He has a checkered past with the disappearance of his wife and son. She tries to just keep her head down and focused on the job but when she hears strange noises and feels like a mask is watching her strange things are most definitely happening here. This book gave some good spooky vibes!