pickDecember 30, 2025 One day before the end of 2025 and I finished the book. It was one of my first books ever read by Julie Olivia and I can confidently say that I love every word she writes. This book was a romance book but it felt different than a romance book. I don't know how to describe it. Friends to Lovers but visualize the setting in 1997. It really gave off a 1997 vibe. The characters were lovey dovey cor sure and you FEEL EVERY EMOTION ❤️
December 29, 2025 Omg so Michelle decided to go over to Cliff's house because she feels angry and hasn't talked with him in a little bit. She wants to know if everything is okay. Then, once she explains to him how she feels towards him, they go crazy and start DOING IT. Yup. Having sex. Warning: Pages 370-379 includes an onslaught of sexual content. Just giving a heads up. I was asking myself too: WHERE IS THE DESCRIPTIVE SEXUAL LANGUAGE HERE haha
December 29, 2025 Page 360 | I grit my teeth and curl my lips in. My chest tightens. My fist clench. I love him. I love him. Sarcastic, floppy-haired Clifford Burke. I love the man I -- damn it -- set up with my sister. The man who told me he's sorting his feelings for me, and I was too stubborn to address them. The man who called me in a panic when he lost his girls. The man who depended on me, who gave me a bed under his roof...
December 29, 2025 Was I right or WAS I RIGHT? I knew that the date with Sara and Cliff wouldn't last longer. Yes, Michelle suggested that Cliff move on and date her sister Sara but Sara knew that Michelle loved Cliff amd couldnt stop thinking of Cliff so Sara told Michelle to give it a shot. It turns out Cliff feels the exact same way. Lovebirds or nah??? Ill let you decide for yourselves...
December 29, 2025 As of page 302, Michelle basically tries to convince Cliff that he needs to be more open out there. He agrees to it. They go back to being friends; not lovers. Then as a result, Michelle tells him to go on a date with her sister, Sara. Sara is younger, pretty, and very bubbly in personality. Cliff goes over to her house and they go on a date. Will Sara and Cliff continue to see each other OR will Cliff see Michelle forever????
December 28, 2025 As of page 194, it seems as though Cliff is literally feeling for Michelle. Michelle is very different than his ex-wife Tracy. Tracy was mean and hot tempered. Michelle is someone who is smart, powerful, kind, and knows what she wants in life.
December 27, 2025 continued... Michelle continues to get to know Cliff more and more. She learns that he likes to bake. He was in Sales before he began baking. He is attractive to her. AND i think that he finds her "stunning" (e.g. when he looks her up and down with his face uh huh)
December 27, 2025 Welp it seems like Michelle has gotten to know Cliff's daughters, Emily and Brittany, pretty well. Brittany loves to play with her dog Rocket and Emily is one who has a teen bf named Josh whom she can't seem to be alone with because her dad is always keeping an eye on her (I mean he really cares about his daughters). Even though Michelle and Cliff are neighbors, she has been to his place and her affection grows each time!
December 26, 2025 Happy post christmas! Hope everyone had a safe and cheerful holiday! I sure did. It seems like Michelle, who use to be Tracy's partner, before they divorced, keeps bumping into her HOT neighbor Cliff Burke, and Cliff keeps on trying to help her out because she is being very careless. She in return is speechless when he appears to help her in various scenarios
December 25, 2025 Page 11 Prologue | Still as stone, he breathes, "You deserve to be alone." The words --- definitive and concise --- ding in my ears. I rish past him and out the chapel's double doors. The wind whistles through my hair. A bead of sweat dribbles down my lower back... He's right. I'm bubbling with anger, and here's my explosion. My world is out of control. Everything is out of my control.
December 25, 2025 My next TBR. Merry Christmas.
pickAnd we have another favourite in contention. Two wonderfully light, rom-com-y books in a row is a wonderful streak to find myself on. Amd their fall and cozy too which is nice. Soon it'll be all christmas, all the time, and I'm not quite ready for that. #57-2025
so-soI was so stoked to read this one because it‘s set in the late 90s (and I do miss the 90s) and because it was hyped as having a Stars Hollow feel. On those two counts, this book delivered! But I felt like it was maybe too long and there were some pacing issues. The audio had a bonus chapter that wasn‘t necessary at all. I‘m left with mixed feelings about this one. 🤷🏻♀️
#bookspinbingo
pickA sweet fall romance with 90s vibes and a single dad hero. Loved it!
so-so🎧 The narrators did not work for me, and I think I‘m not meant to hear in my ear any even mildly 🌶️ scenes. I‘m not built for it. Reading the physical book may have worked better for me, but overall, this was not it. Dogs are one of my favorite things ever, but the MC “hearing” what the dog was “saying” but without any magical realism elements to back it up was an ick. And then the epilogue…🫠🫨
Up next on audio…
#bookspinbingo
pick1997 Cooper‘s Run is a great setting. Like many a romance book I thought too much was written inside the MCs heads rather than enjoying their beautiful Vermont autumn. But the characters (including the dog) are all so likable so I‘ll give my grievance a pass. I can easily see this as a trilogy advancing the timeline 10-15 years with each installment so Emily then Brittany get their grown up stories.
Way more kindle books than physical books last month!
pickI‘ve seen this book everywhere this season so I had to give it a chance. It‘s cute and the 1997 setting is nostalgic for me. The two MCs have some emotional baggage but I did enjoy their friendship and relationship development. I love the idea of running a B&B so that was fun, and the male MC‘s younger daughter being a fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin was hilarious. The negative is that this is way too long. This was my #BookSpin for October
so-soSweet and pumpkin spicy and set in the 90s, this was a nice, nostalgic, cozy Fall romance, but the slow burn wasn‘t helped by some pacing problems that make this just a so-so for me.
pickThis one tugged at my heart strings 🥹! The setting, the decade, the characters— all amazing.
“This fall, cue up your 90s playlist, break out your Walkman, and curl up with a cozy blanket, your old Beanie Babies, and Julie Olivia‘s Berkley debut for a delicious escape back in time.
A sweet and nostalgic small-town romance filled with plenty of classic tropes.”
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If It Makes You Happy: A Small Town Single Dad Romance | 
