2 Book Lovers Reviews
Week of Sept. 20/21
humor, heat, and emotion.
Avery and Declan have
their first year of university.
September's Anticipated Reads!
With fall right around the corner, there’s no better time to get your fall reading list in order. I know, I know, it’s still really hot and humid where I live, too, but trust me, it will be sweater weather in no time.
Just "click" on the book title to read the synopsis.
- September 7 – Rock Paper Scissors – By Alice Feeney – This domestic thriller is calling my name!
Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts--paper, cotton, pottery, tin--and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.
- September 7 – Beautiful World, Where Are You – By Sally Rooney - Sally Rooney has a profound and realistic way of writing about relationships and the world we live in.
- September 14 – The Love Hypothesis – By Ali Hazelwood - I LOVED this book! Review to come!
When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos...
- September 14 – Apples Never Fall – By Liane Moriarty - Fictional family dysfunction? Yes, please!
The Delaney family love one another dearly—it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .
- September 21 – When Sparks Fly – By Helena Hunting - A friends/roommates-to-lovers romance!
- September 28 – Eight Perfect Hours – By Lia Louis – A new book by Lia Louis will always make my list of anticipated reads! Sigh.
The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence...
- September 28 – Meet Me in London – By Georgia Toffolo - A fake relationship/engagement with a great deal of chemistry and heart!
- September 28 – Decisions We Make After Midnight – By Rachel Higginson - This novel sounds like a fun-filled, tension-filled romance! An uptight, arrogant bartender meets a clumsy waitress trying to fix her messy life...
- September 28 – Out of Love – By Hazel Hayes - A love story told in reverse!
Out of Love begins at the end. A couple call it quits after nearly five years, and while holding a box of her ex-boyfriend’s belongings, the young woman wonders: How could they have spent so long together? When did they fall out of love? Were there good times before the bad?
- September 30 – The Naked Fisherman – By Jewel E. Ann - That title! Oh, and it's written by Jewel E. Ann.
My Favorite Reads of 2021 (So Far)!
We're only halfway through 2021, but I've already read some wonderful books that will definitely be making my list of favorites for the year. These books really made an impression on me. They are the ones that I couldn't put down, that I was thinking about even when I wasn't reading them, and that I dreaded to see come to an end. Some of them may not have been released in 2021, but if I read them this year, they counted.
1 - Just Last Night - By Mhairi McFarlane
If humor is what you’re in search of, then you will get your share, but this novel is so much more than a good laugh here and there. The characters are complex and well developed. The story is deep and emotional. There was an intimacy that I felt while reading it. I felt as though I knew this group of friends. I could have easily seen myself out at trivia night with them, sharing some laughs, and a pint or two of ale.
2 - People We Meet on Vacation - By Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation is a well-rounded reading experience. It is filled with humor and witty banter that had me laughing out loud. It has great romantic tension that kept the butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It has all of the emotion, heart, and chemistry that I crave from a book in this genre. I could go on and on about all of the things that I loved about this novel, but just do yourself a favor and read this book and experience it all for yourself. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
3 - Close Enough to Touch - By Colleen Oakley
Have you ever read a book that you didn’t want to put down, but you knew that if you kept reading it, it would be over sooner, and you didn’t want it to end? That’s how I felt with Close Enough to Touch. When I wasn’t reading it, all I did was think about the story and the characters and wish that I was curled up somewhere reading it. I kept eyeing my Kindle, checking to see how much time I had left in the book. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters. I could have easily read another three hundred or so pages. Yes, it was that good!
4 - Love and Other Words - By Christina Lauren
This is a friends-to-lovers story unlike any other. It’s also so much more than that. It deals with loss, grief, moving forward and, of course, first loves. This writing duo is renowned for making me laugh out loud with their hilarious banter and romantic romps, but this book is deeper, and proves that they can write the heck out of anything.
5 - Songs in Ursa Major - By Emma Brodie
Songs in Ursa Major is a beautiful, atmospheric, nostalgic story that transported me to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. I love novels about music, and this book only solidified this love.
6 - Life's Too Short - By Abby Jimenez
Reading a book by Abby Jimenez always brings a smile to my face. I wasn’t very far into this novel before I was laughing out loud and sharing passages with my husband. I also wasn’t very many pages along before I knew that this book was going to be a winner, although I never had any doubts. Having read her previous books, I knew that I was in for a witty, romantic romp that would entertain me from start to finish, but in all honesty, I think that this book is my favorite of hers.
7 - Well Met - By Jen DeLuca
In my opinion, there is nothing better than a slow-burn romance, and Jen DeLuca perfected it. She took her time to develop the characters and their story. She never rushed anything along, thus allowing her readers the time to get to know them. She made me wait, filled me with anticipation and all of the butterflies that go along with it. I wasn’t in a hurry for the romance to happen. I was more than content to simply luxuriate in the slow dance that was taking place between Emily and Simon, and happily waiting for them to finally succumb to what was building. And let me just say that it was so worth the wait.
8 - The People We Keep - By Allison Larkin
The People We Keep is a breathtaking, heartfelt, beautiful novel about the people we meet along the way and the impact that they have on our lives, and our impact on theirs. With every turn of the page, this book pulled me deeper and deeper into April’s story and kept my emotions at an all-time high. You will definitely want this one on your TBR lists.
Happy Reading!
The Violent Season
By Sara Walters
September's Anticipated Reads!
Unfortunately, the end of summer is approaching, and life will be getting back to regular-ish: kids are back to school, vacation time is over, it may be time to return to the office. The silver lining that I’ve found is some great looking books that will be releasing over the next few weeks. These are sure to keep me busy and give me a great escape from the day-to-day.
- September 1 – Constance – By Matthew Fitzsimmons
Sometimes it’s fun to take a trip into the future. It opens up a whole lot of questions: What will things be like? Will life be better? How much more evil and corrupt could people really get? Matthew Fitzsimmons could be going there.
- September 7 – Certain Dark Things – By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
When you beat out Stephen King for the Goodreads Best Horror of 2020 by damn near twice as many votes, you’re going to get people’s attention. Certain Dark Things certainly has mine. Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?
- September 7 – The House of Ashes – By Stuart Neville
I love a good cold case mystery. It looks like this one could have the dual storyline thing going on, and I’ve always found that helps to up the ante on the suspense.
- September 14 – Hell Divers VIII – By Nicholas Sansbury Smith
A favorite Science Fiction series of mine, it’s good to see that it is still going strong. If you’re a fan of Hell Divers, you’ll be stoked. If you don’t know the story…you can get started here: read my review of Hell Divers I.
- September 14 – Slewfoot – By Brom
I don’t really know if anyone does anything quite like Brom. I loved his twisted tale of the Yuletide season. Now he’s going back to the past of early America. I can only imagine where this one will go…or can I?
- September 21 – Under the Whispering Door – By TJ Klune
This one comes complete with a reaper, a tea shop, and comparisons to A Man Called Ove and The Good Place. Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.
Yeah, this one has my name written all over it!
- September 21 – The Moon, the Stars, and Madame Burova – By Ruth Hogan
There is a quirkiness that oozes from Ruth Hogan’s books. Whenever I see one of her novels, I feel like I would have a whole lot of fun. This one seems like it is filled with some eccentric characters that would be a blast to hang around with for a week or two.
- September 28 – Summer Sons – By Lee Mandelo
Sometimes you see a cover and you just know that you want to read that book (we all judge books by their cover, don’t pretend you’re better than that). Summer Sons feels like it could be a heavy one, hopefully one that will really dig at my soul.
- September 28 – The Last House on Needless Street – By Catriona Ward
This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.
All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...
Count me in for this wild ride!
- September 28 – Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow – By Christina Henry
This is something that I’ve been coming across more and more. Taking a classic tale, one that everyone knows, twisting it up, and making something more out of it. I love the idea of Christina Henry’s story: years later…he’s back!
My 2021 Reading Suggestions
Hollow Kingdom - By Kira Jane Buxton
Hollow Kingdom is so much more than just another twist on the apocalypse. It is one of the smartest books, with some of the most compelling characters that I have ever read.
*See my full review.
Project Hail Mary - By Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary is certainly not a comedy, yet scene after scene contained fabulous sarcasm and humorous situations. Andy Weir made me feel the full gamut of emotions.
*See my full review.
Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined - By Stephen Fry
This wasn’t a book about creating something new, a unique story unlike anything people have read before. Stephen Fry created nothing new. This was a book of presentation and Fry’s presentation of these well-known stories was immaculate.
*See my full review.
Nöthin’ But a Good Time - By Tom Beaujour & Richard Bienstock
Have you every listened to that Audible that made you think to yourself, man I wish that could have been twice as long and a musical? Well, Nöthin' But a Good Time is that book!
*See my full review.
Darling Rose Gold - By Stephanie Wrobel
Wrobel could not have created a more dysfunctional relationship. I could not pull myself away from the train wreck that was Rose Gold and Patty.
Under the Whispering Door
By TJ Klune
What he's reading!
What she's reading!