Book Reviews, Favorite Authors, Romance, SmartyPants Romance | 05.06.2020

Batter of Wits by Karla Sorensen (Book Review)

”I want to taste that smile, Angry Girl” The Buchanan curse strikes again, this time with a slight twist. If...

💭 Do you believe urban legends like The Lake Ness Monster and Sasquatch have a hint of truth?

Help, I cannot get over how intensely sweet Twice Shy was. I might never recover.

Despite having a difficult life, Maybell remains helplessly optimistic. In her head, she is always living a sweep-you-off-your-feet romance. She is going through another particularly bleak day when she learns that her great aunt Violet passed away and left her a massive real state.

However, the house and grounds come with some strings attached. First and foremost, she is to share everything with the surly groundskeeper Wesley. Violet also left a list of posthumous wishes she wants Maybell to fulfill - or be haunted for over 1000 years, of course.

All that Wesley ever wanted was to avoid people and transform the grounds he inherited into an animal sanctuary. But, soon he learns that having his life disrupted by the sunny-side Maybell might not be a bad thing at all.

If you want to constantly sigh and acquire tooth decay from an overdose of sweetness this is the book for you.

As always you can check all my reviews and other fun stuff on the blog. Link in Bio 👩‍💻📲💜🥳

#twiceshy #twiceshybook #sarahhogle #littlebrownbooks #romancenovel #contemporaryromancereads #contemporaryromance #bookstagram
#bookishlife #romancelandia #romcom #romancereaders #romanceauthors #romancebooks #contemporaryromancebooks #contemporaryromanceauthor #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookshelf #bookishlove #bookstabuddies📚

💭 Do you have a local library where you live? Do you request a lot of books?

Nora Seed is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. She suffers from anxiety and depression, and after a series of upsetting news, Nora decides she doesn't want to live anymore.

Stuck between life and death after an overdose she wakes up in The Library. A place where Nora can open The Book of Regrets and choose from a multitude of books all the lives she didn't live. Just like a neverending ticket to the multiverse, before properly dying she can sample what her life would be if she made different choices.

From simple things like - what if I had said yes to that one coffee. To more complicated things like - what if I kept up with swimming and became an Olympic athlete?

The purpose is to make Nora realize that all lives have their share of happiness and darkness. No matter if she's a famous rockstar, a dog sitter, a glaciologist, or a professor. The universe will always have a balance between the good days and the bad days, and the only way for Nora to find purpose in her existence is to continue living.

All of this is fine. This book is so easy to get through, and in the beginning I couldn't put it down. But I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the whole experience. It's such a known formula. Immediately I think of It's a Wonderful Life, but this could also be a Doctor Who episode. I mean, I do love Doctor Who, but the thing is I couldn't find that extra spark I was looking for in this novel.

It all seems very pretentious, like a cloaked self-help guide. All the while being extremely triggering for suicide and self-harm.

I wanted to truly love the Midnight Library, the blurb is so intriguing and the cover is stunning. I admit that some parts were fun and I even got a bit emotional at the end. Yet, it turned out to be just an ok read.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Full review + fun stuff = link in bio 👩‍💻📲💙

#matthaig
#themidnightlibrary #matthaigauthor #bookrecommendations #bookishlove #bookreview #literaryfiction #fantasybooks #bookrelease #bookishlife #bookstagram #matthaigbooks #themidnightlibrarybook #themidnightlibrarymatthaig #themidnightlibraryreview

💭 Have you ever been on a cruise? Would you want to? ⛴️

This is Tessa Bailey at her absolute best. It Happened one Summer is the perfect beach read. Funny, charming, sexy, and heartfelt, it has all the ingredients that make this a delightful book.

Piper Bellinger is going through yet another breakup. She keeps having lighting-fast relationships with Hollywood playboys and is feeling so generic she can't separate who she is from her plastic public persona. She is an internet sensation and famous socialite, but besides her sister Hannah she can't rely on anyone.

After landing herself in jail after a wild night her stepfather sentences her to go back to her hometown and connect with her roots. Her dad was a crab fisherman, but after his death many years ago her mother (and consequently Piper and Hannah) never visited Westport, Washington again. Now the two sisters must stay there for three months and work on their late father's bar.

It Happened on Summer triumphs because it manages to deliver a story that is equal parts light rom-com, steamy contemporary, and earnest small-town romance. All characters have a multitude of layers.

Piper easily sheds her socialite persona and becomes this endearing protagonist, dead set in charming Westport and honoring her late father's memory.

Brendan, the love interest, is a classic grump to Piper's sunshine. But, he is willing to listen, learn and observe. He compliments her and understands that changes can be a very good thing.

And Westport itself has an amalgam of characters that each shine on their own.

In the end, I was so completely charmed by this book. And Tessa even sprinkles tidbits about Hannah (Piper's sister) and Fox (Brendan's best friend) and I was so intrigued that I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Thank you AVON/Frontlist for approving me for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

See all my reviews and fun stuff on the blog! 👩‍💻📲 Link in bio.

It Happened One Summer will be released on July 13th 🥳

💭Did ever play Clue? Who was your favourite character?

An homage to Agatha Christie with sprinkles of Downtown Abbey by way of David Lynch.

The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle will throw you in a claustrophobic loop and keep you guessing from the very first paragraph.

It happens that the protagonist is Aiden Bishop a man who is bound to Blackheath - a decaying manor where a crime was committed. Every night at precisely 11 pm Evelyn Hardcastle dies by the pool and Aiden must discover who the murderer is.

The twist is that he must repeat this same day for seven days until he finds out whodunit, but waking up in different bodies every single time.

These are called 'hosts' - Aiden inhabits seven different men who can provide distinguished points of view to what actually happened around the mansion before Evelyn was killed.

But, Aiden is not alone. Other 'players' are also involved in this time loop and only one can escape.

Stuart Turton brings readers to this suffocating adventure, with a dark and damp setting and many twists and turns along the way.

The complicated plot can feel convoluted at times with a Plague Doctor, a deranged footman, dead rabbits, and many red herrings. But it thrives in its structure, the way Turton connects the many 'lives' of Aiden, present, and future is brilliant.

However, after so many carefully crafted details, the ending feels rushed. Robbing the reader from a concrete explanation for the mystery surrounding Blackheath itself. Which is extremely frustrating after such a stifling narrative.

Full review and fun stuff in the blog ❤️
link in bio 📲👩‍💻

Rating ⭐⭐⭐ (3.75)

#stuartturton #stuartturtonauthor #thesevendeathsofevelynhardcastle #the7deathsofevelynhardcastle #the712deathsofevelynhardcastle #evelynhardcastle #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #thrillerreads #thrillerbooksaddict #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookishlove #bookishladiesclub #bookish #bookstagram #bookishlife

💭 What's your favourite act from the circus? 🎪 I always loved the trapeze 🖤

This book was released almost 10 years ago, can you believe it? The best word to describe The Night Circus is enchanting.

Erin Morgenstern carefully sculpts each word, crafting an impossibly magical world caught between nightmare and dream.

This is the story of a student who challenges the methods taught by their teacher. One believes that study and order can create surreal things. The other thinks flare and fanfare are best practices when dealing with the occult.

This is the story of a girl and a boy with unique talents who enter a competition, of an impossible traveling troupe, twins can read the past and predict the future, and the power of narratives.

Leaking magical realism, The Night Circus will not be a book for everyone because of its unique pacing. But if you decide to give it a shot you'll be rewarded with an immersive experience, that will eventually make you fall in love with each character.

I already knew about Morgenstern's incredible talent from reading the equally breathtaking The Starless Sea. But having The Night Circus as a debut novel is an outstanding achievement.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Full review and many others: link in bio 📲👩‍💻

#thenightcircus #thenightcircus🎪 #thenightcircusnovel #thenightcircusreveurs #cirquedureves #rêveur #erinmorgenstern #erinmorgensternthenightcircus #erinmorgensternbooks #thestarlesssea #magicalrealism #fictionbooks #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookishlove #bookshelf

💭 Have you ever surfed? If not, is it something you'd like to learn someday?

𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗯𝘂 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰, 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝟴𝟬𝘀

Most of the book uses a style that I love - from 7 am to 7 am - narrating each hour of the fateful day of Hollywood's most talked-about party. Anyone who is anyone will be attending Nina Riva's wild bash. A party that just gets more out of control each upcoming year. No invitations are sent out, to be a part of it you just need to know where it is.

But, to understand exactly how everything is going to burst up in flames in 1981 we get flashbacks to how the Riva family came to be - when Mick met June. Before he was THE Mick Riva (wildly known singer of Frank Sinatra proportions) he was just a handsome guy that knew how to carry a tune, and June was just a pretty LA girl who wanted to escape her square life.

Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit are their offspring, each with their own story to tell filled with their own struggles and secrets, and in 24h (just like a perfect wave) everything will come crashing down before Malibu rises again.

Thank you Penguin Random House UK, Cornerstone, and Netgalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Full review: link in bio 📲

@lazybookconqueror

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