One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

Bachelor Nation…take notes! If you are a fan of The Bachelor dating show, you need to pick this one up! There has been a ton of social media discussing and demanding more diversity around The Bachelor, but not enough discussion around the types of leads and contestants they cast outside of just race (Yes, we need that too). One to Watch deals with having a plus size lead, and I am here for it!

This stays pretty on tact with how the Bachelor show works, with some extra twists along the way. It shows the negative side of social media especially around people who are overweight. I actually loved how realistic these parts were. Let me add, I am reading this as someone who is overweight and still really enjoyed it.

I loved Bea. I really love how closed off she is and how we get to see her break down her own insecurities. She has to learn that she is worthy of love.

The only thing I did not love was when talking about Bea as a teen. I feel that every story (real life or fiction) talks about how kids who are overweight had no friends in school or had a terrible experience. I personally had the opposite and had great friends and etc. This has already been a pet peeve of mine as it is like no fat person had positive social interactions. This is just a me thing though and my own personal irritation. I hope that makes sense.

Overall, I loved this one though. I loved how real it was and that it showed both the positive and negative supports for Bea when she was on her journey.

Triggers for fat shaming, cheating, and harmful social media comments around fat people


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The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am pretty torn with this one. When it first started, I was really enjoying everything about this. I am not a huge fan of books that jump from one time frame to another, but worked well when jumping 15 years ago and back to the present.
This started to lose me in the second half. I had some pacing issues. Right when you should be getting to the peak of the mystery, this dragged on and on. There were so many added details that just took away from the excitement of what was happening. They really did do anything for the twists and turns to the story or even to the current things happening. I also found since so many things were being thrown in, that is got a little confusing. I had no clue what one thing had to do with another at times.

This one had potential, but just shifted to being ok.


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Scoundrel’s Vengeance Highlander’s Pact Book One Sky Purington

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

This is actually the second book in The Friend Zone series. This does follow different characters and you do not have to read book one to read and enjoy this one. I actually liked this one more than I liked book one.

I will say, I am not normally a huge fan of stories that involve rock stars. That was the only aspect of this story that I really did not care for. The story around Jason and Sloan’s romance was pretty typical when dealing with one character who is famous. Otherwise, I was huge fans of both Sloan and Jason and were wanting them to make it work.

This was a really quick read and exactly what I needed right now. It hit on some more hard hitting topics like loss of a loved one, celebrity life, and substance abuse. It had just enough added to keep my interest.

Overall, I enjoyed this one.

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The Lynx and the Druidess by Cornelia Amiri

Ghosting: A Love Story by Tash Skilton

Ghosting: A Love Story by Tash Skilton


I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

Did you love the movie Hitch? As soon as this one started that is the vibe that I got: a modern day Hitch around online dating! I was hooked. Sadly, this ended up taking a turn for the worse after the quirky and fun beginning.

There is little to no romance within the first half of this though. It was a little slow and boring as you hear how both Zoey and Miles are helping others get their dating profiles together. I wanted more interactions with the two of them. Those were the moments that I looked forward too and found myself interested in the story. There were just not enough of them to keep my interest.

Sadly, this was a DNF from me.


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Beach Read by Emily Henry

Beach Read by Emily Henry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I just do not get it! I was super excited for this one as some of my favorites had this as a top read of the year. I was expecting to really love it, but it just did not work for me.
When this started with information around January and her family issues, I thought I was going to love this. Then everything took a turn and I found myself losing interest in the story. I actually put this down as I was just not enjoying it at all. I picked it back up hoping that my feelings would change. They did not.

I had issues with pacing. I found myself bored and uninterested in some of the smaller details. I guess I just did not connect with the characters or the storyline. Overall, this one was pretty disappointing


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Echo of Eternity The Zulu Chronicles Book One Skyler Patterson

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

What You Wish For by Katherine Center
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

I have always wanted to read a book from Katherine Center as I have heard great things about her previous works. Sadly, this one did not work for me.
I absolutely loved the beginning of this story when we first get introduced to Samantha and her life. I was hooked and thought I was going to fly through this. Sadly, this one lost me after the introduction scenes.

This does deal with adults, but it was very YA to be in how the characters were acting. I did not think it made any sense how Samantha fell so in love with Duncan when he did not even know her. Again, this was more of a younger character story for me. She ended up leaving her job and moving away to nothing over a guy who did not know her.

Once Duncan arrives to her new school, of all places, the story still did not pick up for me. It was slow and there were too many details that I just did not care about. I found myself a little bored and skimming to find out what happened.

I will still try some other work from the author as others seem to feel the same way about this one.


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An Appalachian Summer by Ann H. Gabhart

An Appalachian Summer by Ann H. Gabhart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

This was my first book by Ann Gabhart, and it will not be my last. I really loved her writing style and her story telling abilities. I was wrapped up into this story and loved every second of it.

If you love romance and historical fiction, you need to add this one to your list. This story follows Piper during the Great Depression and follows her as a frontier nurse in the Appalachian Mountains. I just love reading stories set around these times.

Overall, this was an amazing story and I look forward to reading more from this author.


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You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This one started off pretty promising, but ended up just not being for me. I enjoyed part one and everything going on with the current day. I did not really like how it jumped from past and present with no explanations. Even though it all comes together in the end, it almost felt like several smaller stories in one. There was not enough connecting the past and the current to keep my interest.

I just did not love how this all played out. I found myself bored and skimming to get to the end.


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Helplessly Hoping Douglas Kent

Courting Moon: Vampyre’s Desire The Bloods Passion Saga Book One Adom Sample

The Assassin’s Daughter The Hybrid Chronicles Book One Shana Vernon

A Heart of Salt and Silver Elexis Bell

A Reckless Love by Beth White

A Reckless Love by Beth White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

A Reckless Love is actually the third book in the Daughtry House series. I did not read the prior books before jumping into this one. It can be read as a standalone, but I would have liked to start this from the beginning.

This story does deal with racial issues. This was a very hard read, especially with everything going on in the world. I like to read to escape, and this just brought me right back into what has been going on. Be mindful of this when going into this one.

I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I really enjoyed Aurora and her story. It really makes me want to read books one and two to read more about other characters.

Overall, this was a pretty good read.


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All I Ask by Corinne Michaels

All I Ask by Corinne Michaels
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

First, I am a huge Corinne Michaels fan and was super excited for this one. Second, this cover is beyond gorgeous. However; this one fell a little flat for me.

I love second chance romances, but I just could never get into this one for some reason. It was a little too slow and repetitive. There was not enough going on to keep my attention. There were too many things that were unrealistic and things just felt forced. I just never bought into their romance or anything going on.

I was also just waiting for that gut wrenching moment that I have come to love from Corinne Michaels. It just did not come in this one.

Overall, this one just did not work for me.

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Hex Factor The Paranormals Book One Andie M. Long

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

I actually picked this one up a while back prior to the release. I was really enjoying it, but was just not in a reading mood. I am so glad I picked this one back up. I cannot believe that this was the authors debut novel!

I really loved learning more around the Indian culture. We get to see several sides within the culture from both families.

This does start off with parents who are trying to arrange a marriage for their child, Liya. I loved how Liya did not want to just accept some of her cultural expectations and fought for what she wanted for her own life.

If you love hate to love romances, I definitely recommend checking this one out. I really enjoyed how Jay and Liya meet and how they have several encounters before a romance begins to build.

This also deals with some heavier topics such sexual abuse. Jay is also dealing with some past trauma. Liya really has her walls up but Jay really sticks by her side which I loved. The sexual abuse did not wrap up the way I would have liked, but the author still did a good job ensuring support for Liya was in place and ensuring she was not left feeling responsible for what happened to her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one!


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A Stream of Darkness Crymsen Crescent Book One Avery Kilpatrick

The Sea Archer Heaven and Earth Series Book One Jeny Heckman

The Call of Magic The Fool’s Journey Book One A. R. C.

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

I was really excited for this one as I really love a good rom-com. I would say if you love gymnastics, then you will love this one. If you are looking for a rom com and romance, this one is lacking in those aspects. It also reads very young adult to me more so than adult.

There is actually almost little to no romance. There is a relationship developing between Avery and Ryan, but it is not the forefront to the story. It really does not even come into play into well over a 100 pages or so in. I wanted more from this aspect of the story.

I was a little disappointed that this went into the sexual abuse story surrounding gymnastics. I feel every single gymnastic read now how this storyline. I am not saying that we do not need to talk about this, but this was almost a re-telling of what happened in USA gymnastics around sexual abuse. I was not expecting this to focus more so on sexual abuse and mental health, but it did much more than being a rom com at all.

This is very heavily gymnastic focused. You will learn about routines and such and really get into the sport. There was not much going on to keep my interest. I hate to say it, but I was pretty bored most of the time.

Overall, this was not what I was expecting at all and was not for me.


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The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green

The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

This story does involve a murder with the points of views being told before and after the murder. I actually really liked seeing everything Jenny was doing prior to her murder. I will say that things got a little crazy and out there at times.

This does deal with affairs, inappropriate relationships, rape, and murder. It kept my attention, but I would have liked it to be a little more fast paced. I still read this in one sitting though and enjoyed it for what it was. There were just too many added details that did not bring anything to the story. I also was a not a huge fan how everything wrapped up with this one.

Overall, this was ok. I am excited to see what we get from the author in the future though as this was her debut novel.


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A Queen’s Pride by N.D. Jones

LESSIA Eluramance Chronicles Book One Lucas Ryan Maloney

Sunshine on Silver Lake: Includes a bonus novella by Annie Rains

Sunshine on Silver Lake: Includes a bonus novella by Annie Rains
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

When one of your favorite publicists recommends a book, you grab it! I was not disappointed.

I have actually never read anything from Annie Rains, and now I am hooked. I did not realize this was the 5th book in the Sweetwater Springs series as it can be read as a standalone. I just went and purchased book one as I really want to get back into these characters and world.

If you love a great friends to lovers story, you need to pick this one up. I really loved how relatable the characters were and watching their relationship grow. I have been in a horrible reading slump lately, but I could not put this one down.

Overall, I loved this and look forward to reading more from this author.


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