I somehow managed to read 24 books this month (admittedly 3 I had started last month, I usually have 4 books going at one lol), which honestly surprises me because it felt like I barely had any reading time! I guess all those stolen lunch-hour chapters and late nights reading after the kids went to bed (my favorite reading time) really added up. This month had just one 5-star read, but lots of solid 3.5- and 4-star books. There were also a couple of super-hyped reads (Yesteryear and Phoebe Burman’s Gonna Lose It) that just didn’t live up to the hype for me. As always, these are just my thoughts-if you loved one that didn’t work for me (or vice versa), I’d love to hear about it, leave a comment or message me, I love talking books. Someone told me their definition of a 5 star read is that they’d read it again, I loooooved that, I’m adding that to my rating system (at the bottom). Here are previous reviews. Happy reading! Also I’d love to know, what are you reading? Leave me a comment below!
Play Along 5/5 (Kindle Unlimited) – I loved the other books in this series, but this one? I LOVED. Isaiah was so sweet, charismatic, and completely swoon-worthy—I adored how absolutely obsessed he was with Kennedy. “I’m a cuddler, Ken… I’ll probably snuggle you so hard you won’t be able to breathe anyway.” And Kennedy… finding out she didn’t get her first real hug until college absolutely broke my heart. Their relationship was so gentle, kind, and healing. I laughed at Isaiah’s home décor courtesy of his friends, and “I llll… live laugh love you” had me cracking up. I also loved how he was always trying to feed her (my love language). I actually teared up when he gave her the choice at the end—it was such a beautiful moment because all he wanted was for her to choose what made her happiest. Their Chili’s date was perfection (Chili’s really is the best), and that epilogue was everything I wanted.
Fight: A Firefighter Romance 4.5/5 (paperback) – ok, so I went to Barnes and Nobles and this was on my list and I had to ask someone because I wasn’t finding it on the shelves. They said they were selling out super fast and a new shipment had come that morning and they went to get it for me from the basement! Lol, maybe that added to my excitement? “I want us to be more than fun, I wanna make you mine” swoon! Dave is the worrrst, what a garbage man. Cal is so swoony somewhere! They’re so cute and flirty when they play board games. I loved the part where she’s telling Cal she has to go back and that God never closes a door without leaving a window open, and he goes “well then lets open the door again, because that’s how doors work”. Cal’s conversation with Johnathan, that was really moving. This book was so good (spicy too) it made me actually pick up the next book in the series. The playlist with this book is fire. The epilogue and bonus chapter were just cherry on top perfect.
Fever Dream 4.5/5 (Audible) – How does Elsie Silver keep writing books this good?! I’m such a huge fan, and this one was no exception. Emmet was everything—sweet, goofy, flirty, and such a safe place for Julia. The moment on the cruise when everything happened and he quietly took her hair down? Gah… my heart. I also loved Julia and her relationship with Theo (and the little Reckless mention made me so happy!). Julia’s plants, her coffee obsession, and yes… pineapple with eggs? Somehow they made me want to try it lol. Terri may have just been doing her job, but those notes drove me nuts, and Richard was absolutely the worst. I loved these two together, loved how gentle and caring Emmet was, and the whole book just made me happy. My only tiny complaint? I wouldn’t have minded a little more spice.
Throne Of Glass 4.5/5 (Library book) – Celaena! Dorian! Chaol! I can definitely see why so many people love this series. I was completely invested in the characters and loved watching the mystery and world slowly unfold. The story kept pulling me along, and by the end I was already reaching for the next book. I would’ve loved just a little more romance and spice, but the characters and plot more than made up for it. I’m officially hooked and can’t wait to see where the series goes next!
The Burning Side 4/5 (Audible) – yup, I too would have accidentally burned the house down if my husband dropped the divorce bomb lol. Loved Deb’s point of view “childcare gives a woman’s hands exponential power “ -feeding apple sauce and opening a bandaid at the same time. As a new mom, how can you not feel it when April talks about how she has a newborn and it’s lonely and she doesn’t know what to do and he only got a week off work (that’s all Nick got and I had no idea what I was doing, and Ben cried all the time) and her body is all changed and he like walks in talking about his professional life and is looking good, and she knows she wanted this. “Home is the note where the song starts, come back to it for the resolve” loved the end. It was so beautifully written.
Rumors and Whisky 4/5 (Audible) – The audiobook cast was fantastic and really brought this story to life. I loved that the characters were a little older—she’s 35!—and the hero being a jeweler… and then some… was such a fun surprise. He was wildly handsome, completely gone for her, and every time he called her “baby” it was in the sweetest, sexiest moments. Him weeding her garden while she slept? Absolute swoon. And asking her sisters how she takes her iced coffee? I melted. I also adored that her mom bakes cakes and brings them to her kids—it made me want to do the same. I actually asked Ben what I’m known for, and he said my cookies, so now our summer goal is to perfect three cookie recipes together. I also have to laugh because this author clearly loves coffee (bringing iced coffee to her bedside in Bourbon Boys and again here!), and I’m not complaining. The epilogue was the perfect ending.
Our Perfect Storm 4/5 (hardcover book and Spotify) – This was my book club’s pick, and I loved getting to discuss it with everyone afterward. I adored that cookbooks became Frankie’s passport to the world—there’s something so comforting about cookbooks, and I loved that she was a recipe developer for a food influencer. Her name made me smile too (I have a Frankie, and everyone assumes it’s short for Francesca, but mine is a Franziska). Tofino is officially on my travel list. George and Frankie’s friendship was beautiful, although it also made me laugh because I have a male best friend, and our friendship has never looked anything like this—I couldn’t tell you what swim trunks he wore when we were 14, let alone notice how attractive he looked. But I completely related to missing the little details of someone’s life when you don’t see them often. I also understood moments like George ordering for Frankie because he knew exactly what she’d like—Nick somehow knows what I want better than I do. I loved their rib tattoos (although ladies in my bookclub hated this lol, they said they would have been put off if a guy had another girls’ name tattooed on his ribs), her little “orphan family” of vintage dishes, and the conversations about wanting “an equal belonging.” “I like who I am when I’m with you” might have been my favorite line because that’s exactly how I feel with Nick. The first (well… second!) kiss was volcanic (loved that description), George’s letters were absolutely beautiful (“There’s no other reality I’d want to exist in except this one, with you”), and the story about her mom and the whales hit especially close to home after my own experience with hyperemesis during pregnancy. My only real complaints were the constant jumps back in time once they finally got together, another third-act breakup (big eye roll, this totally wasn’t necessary), and I never understood why Frankie needed so much space after finding out what George had said, it wasn’t that big a deal TBH. I loved the ending but wished we’d gotten more of their life together. Overall, this felt like a romance with a little more depth, and the writing was just beautiful. Of her books, this wasn’t my fave.
Roommate’s Guide To Love 4/5 (Kindle Unlimited) – Surprisingly spicy! I was starting to think it was getting a little slow, but then something happened that pulled me right back in. The playlist that goes along with the book is fantastic and really adds to the reading experience. I loved that the heroine was a little curvier, and Porter and Hazel’s sweet eight-year relationship was such a refreshing change from the usual romance timeline. Grace was a great addition to the story, and Simon absolutely stole every scene he was in. His over-the-top personality, dad club, and bounce houses were hilarious. My favorite line was when Porter said, “If someone were to ask me who my ideal, perfect woman was and I had never met you before, I’d somehow still describe you.” Swoon. I also appreciated that once they got together, there wasn’t a third-act breakup. Overall, it was cute, sweet, and a little cheesy at times, but in a good way.
Scotch On The Rocks 4/5 (Libby) – This one was on a few lists as an audiobook, so I was excited when Libby had it! What I loved most was how patient he was with her. When he tells her they won’t sleep together until she truly believes there’s an “us,” it was such a beautiful moment. He’s already all-in, and instead of pushing her, he’s willing to wait until she’s ready to meet him there. I also appreciated that when things got hard, he didn’t just walk away. He stayed, worked through it with her, and fought for the relationship, which felt incredibly refreshing and romantic. There’s one spicy scene, a lot of heart, and a very cute epilogue. Overall, this was a sweet, satisfying romance that left me smiling.
More Than Words (Velvet Shadows) 4/5 (Spotify) – love an older character (he’s 35!)- this is a beautiful dual narration. I love how he is the one who doesn’t want to hide their relationship and she’s so tentative. Love how she helps him and how he is with his ADHD. It was very cute overall.
I Got You: A Grumpy Sunshine Sports Romance 3.5/5 (Kindle Unlimited)- (closed door romance). The title made me laugh because when we were in North Carolina, the waitstaff kept saying, “I got you!” Need another soda? I got you. Need a refill? I got you. So naturally, Nick picked this one out for me to read. A few moments got me right in the feelings: when she gives him the ring (so sweet), and when she’s the first person to wear his name and number (more sweetness). I also loved that guys were constantly hitting on her, while he was over there being ridiculously attractive. As she put it: “Could he be just a little less manly and gruff and…powerful?” My favorite part might have been her Thanksgiving Bingo card game. Such a fun and detail/game, I kinda want to do that with my family! That said, I never quite understood why he agreed to the arrangement after barely knowing her. What exactly was in it for him? Still, he was incredibly sweet, so I went with it. Overall, this was a cute, cozy closed-door romance (meaning when they’re about to do something in the bedroom, the door closes and you turn the page and there are zero details lol). No spice whatsoever, and y’all know I like at least a little spice in my romances, but it was still an enjoyable read.
Rules for the Summer 3.5/5 (Audible) – eeeeh sadly this isn’t her best book. It was so boring and repetitive. Her aunt is so annoying. They keep writing/reading and re-reading the rules with small changes, like I said, repetitive. His friendship with Rupert is sweet, didn’t understand the stupid falling out, but I guess they needed some tension. There was some spice which was cute, and they were cute as a couple. I did like the end which redeemed this for me.
The Pool Boy 3.5/5 (Kindle Unlimited) – This book is inanely steamy, just putting that out there. Like Whoa! How it started, omgggg! After their first encounter when her phone rings and he says “your ex again?” I about died when she said “no, it’s, uh… your mother” dead!! This woman is having a sexual awakening lol. He’s so sweet! It was cute, I don’t know, I wish they would have been more of a couple and that he would have had a little bit more of a backbone and they would have had a little support!
Yesteryear 3/5 (Libby) -I can absolutely see why people have wildly different opinions on this book, and honestly, I think that’s a good thing. Maybe because I’m in the influencer space (on a much, much, much smaller scale), this book just didn’t hit the way it seems to for everyone else. I know firsthand how much work goes into creating content. Even a simple 15-second reel or a blog post can take hours, and the bigger creators absolutely have teams behind them. Producers, photographers, videographers, editors, affiliate managers…that’s not shocking to me, that’s just running a successful business. I’ve even met a food blogger whose site feels like a cozy little homey blog, and they’re absolutely lovely. But behind the scenes? It’s a team of around 15 people (this was 5 years ago, so I’m sure it’s much bigger now). Most readers would never know because it still feels so personal. That’s not a criticism at all-honestly, good for them! They’ve built an incredible business. My issue isn’t that influencers have help-it’s when creators insist they’re doing everything themselves (even I have asked about their team in those question boxes and they’re like ‘it’s just me’ …and I have a graphic designer and a manager and a copy writer and producer and videographer but it’s just me.., what?). This book did a good job exploring perception versus reality, but none of those reveals felt particularly groundbreaking to me. What did resonate with me was Natalie’s unraveling. Her postpartum depression was heartbreaking to read, her mother was unbelievably awful and naive at the save time and gave the worst advice, and Caleb somehow became more insufferable with every chapter, I literally wanted something really bad to happen to him. He was the worst. The scenes after she had the 1st baby were some of the saddest which was just the beginning of her severe untreated postpartum depression. I kept hearing this book was sharp satire and laugh-out-loud funny, but I never found it particularly funny or clever, not once did I come close to laughing. To me, it wasn’t really about influencer culture at all – it was about a deeply unhappy, mentally ill woman making increasingly devastating choices. I finished feeling more sad than entertained. Well written? Absolutely. And that’s why this book is a 3 instead of a 1, because the writing is there. But for me, it was much more of a psychological character study than the biting satire everyone promised. Honestly, if there’s one thing this book reminded me of, it’s that life is too short to spend time consuming content that makes you feel miserable. If someone’s posts annoy you, make you angry, or just aren’t your thing…hit that unfollow button! There are so many wonderful creators out there. Fill your feed with people who make you smile, teach you something, or inspire you – and let everyone else be.
Crave Me: A Small Town, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance 3/5 (Kindle Unlimited) – If you like a man who’s very much in charge, a little praise kink, and lots of spice, this book is probably for you. It’s definitely hot from the start. I loved what he wrote on the side of her coffee cups. 😭 Those little moments got me every time. That said, I could have done without the constant “don’t make me repeat myself.” I know some readers love that dynamic, but it’s just not my thing. I would be like please stfu. Also, this man was forever cornering her in bathrooms. My biggest question became: does this poor woman ever actually get to use the restroom? Every time she walked toward one, I was like, “Girl, good luck.” Y’all already know how I feel about sex clubs in books—I just never quite buy them. Maybe that’s naive of me, but they always pull me out of the story and I’m eye rolling. I also didn’t fully buy how Ried magically “took care” of that major problem for her and then… nobody ever talked about it again? What? The saving grace for me was the epilogue. I absolutely loved the five-years-later ending and thought it wrapped everything up in a really satisfying way. Overall, this one was very spicy, had some sweet moments, and a strong ending, but a few plot points and character dynamics kept it from being a bigger hit for me.
Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It 3/5 (Libby) – man I had high hopes for it and it’s such a fun premise (sexual anxiety) and could have been so good but man, it was boring and read like a Young Adult novel! Such a snoozefest, I couldn’t believe it gets such high ratings or that it was an NYT best seller!
The Mad Wife 3/5 (paperback) – read this for my traveling book club. This one was just okay for me. The premise was interesting, and I kept waiting for it to really grab me, but it never quite got there. The writing was solid and I appreciated the historical setting, but the pacing felt slow and I found myself struggling to stay invested in the story. Overall it felt longer than it needed to be. Not a bad book by any means, just one that didn’t fully work for me. If you enjoy slower-paced historical fiction with strong themes of resilience and survival, you may have a better experience with it than I did. This was definitely not thrilling at all, just sad. (This is so similar to how I felt with Yesteryear, not like thrilling or satirical or educational, just sad and depressing and unsupported women)
Dove 3/5 (library book) – “another caveman-like action that doesn’t fail to make my heart splutter” oooooh Sean, so manly. He came into her house and cleaned and cooked! Can someone do that for me?! Lol. He’s a little extreme and I’m v NOT into sexy time talk when it includes derogatory talk “you’re my little slut” etc, like stop right there sir, is she calling you a man whore? Because you’ve slept around more than her I’m sure. Lol’d when his buddy goes “on your face, bro? This is fuckin’ extreme speed dating” loved how quick they moved, loved the epilogue like far enough into the future (19 years) but I didn’t find the sex stuff in this one hot.
The Defender 3/5 (Kindle Unlimited) – This one has been hyped to high heavens on social media, so maybe my expectations were just too high, but it was… fine? Cute enough, but not nearly as amazing as I’d been led to believe. It took until about 60% for them to even kiss, and then scenes would end right when something interesting happened only to skip ahead a few days. Like, they finally kiss and hold hands and then… nothing? I kept waiting for the story to really pick up, but it felt like a snoozefest, and even the spice didn’t make up for it. I also never understood why they were being so secretive from their friends and her dad for the first half of the book—it didn’t seem to add anything to the story. Not a bad read, just one that didn’t live up to the hype for me.
Dangerous Men 4/5 (kindle unlimited) -This was my first why choose dark mafia romance where the relationship dynamics actually made sense. Usually I feel like someone would end up jealous or the group just doesn’t work, but this one completely worked. I loved that she owns a café and bookstore with her friend, and I laughed out loud when the MMC buys a book with an innocent-looking cover and it’s actually wildly smutty. Her ex was the absolute worst, and Seb totally grew on me as the story went on. Then that ending… WHAT?! I immediately had to pick up book two because there was no way I was leaving it there.
Dangerous Thoughts 3.5/5 (Kindle Unlimited) – I’m still 100% Team Sebastian. I loved the relationship between the brothers, especially when Ashton gets mad at Seb – their different personalities make them so fun to read. Sebastian completely won me over, and when he kisses her and says, “This. This is what a perfect kiss can be. It’s soft, slow, and unhurried. But I feel it in every cell of my body…”… swoon. That’s so much more my style than Viper, who has me worried for her safety every time he’s on the page. I’m also not a fan of degrading dirty talk, so Sebastian was definitely my favorite. After spending so long pushing them away, her walking naked to Sebastian’s door and saying, “The door is open, Doc. I’ve had enough space.” was such a mic-drop moment. And after all the chaos, I loved finally seeing some softness and comfort- at one point I was wondering why this poor girl was sticking around when nobody was even cuddling her! Ash also continued to be such a sweetheart, and I love how eager he always is. Just HATE these cliffhanger endings. Like I’m out.
To Cage A Wild Bird 3.5/5 (Libby) – this was just narrated by a woman, even the male parts so that kind of killed it for me lol. It had me hooked in some parts and dragging a little in others. I really enjoyed the world-building, the tension, and Raven as a heroine, but there were stretches where the pacing felt slow and my attention wandered (like, I started and finished other books lol). Vale was definitely the highlight for me, and I was most invested whenever he was on the page. The ending did not leave me curious enough to continue the series. It’s a slow-burn romantasy.
Unhinged 3/5 (Spotify) – ugh I couldn’t understand why she did what she did (seemingly all of a sudden) with Theo. Seemed not cool. Like yeah I can understand why Grey was pissed 100%. I hated that it ended on a cliff hanger, haaaaate that. This why choose did not make sense to me. Only saving grace was that the narrators were hot.
Good Hands 3/5 (Kindle Unlimited) I loved the premise of this one- it felt really unique. Her brother gets himself into trouble, she’s counting cards to try to earn enough money to help him, and then the guy sent after her brother kidnaps her… kind of for her own good. Her brother was the absolute worst. The twist involving the MMC totally caught me off guard. I did think she forgave him way too quickly, though. The story felt a little disjointed at times, and by the end it was almost like, “Look! Everything magically worked out!” I was happy she finally got a break from her brother and that they made it back to the cabin, but the ending was a little too “aw shucks” for me. And with a title like Good Hands, I expected a lot more spice! I was so ready to be done that I didn’t even bother downloading the bonus epilogue that required signing up for the author’s newsletter lol, I just didn’t care.
My rating system
- 5 stars – I loved this book and would recommend it to someone looking for their next book to read. This is a book I would re-read and am slightly jealous of anyone who gets to experience it for the first time
- 4 stars – I really liked and enjoyed this book, it was solid. Glad I read it.
- 3 stars – I liked this book enough to finish it, but wish there would have been something more – and probably wishing it had change
- 2 stars – It was hard to finish, but I made it to the end. I don’t understand why people liked this
- 1 star – Really annoyed I finished this book, did not like it
- DNF – Did not finish, just couldn’t do it, it was so bad
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