I‘m afraid this one is headed back to the library unread. A road trip novel isn‘t appealing this soon after reading the ultimate feel good road trip book, The Road to Tender Hearts. Maybe I‘ll pick it up later and give it a fair chance.

Sad and depressing, to be honest, but isn‘t that to be expected from a memoir of a wife whose husband loses his leg in the war? I think the first half was stronger than the second half; I would‘ve liked more ‘here‘s what‘s wrong with how we handle our injured vets and here‘s what needs to change,‘ and maybe that was my fault going into a memoir expecting something else. It‘s not something I‘ll remember or recommend, but it was fine. 3 stars.

Seems like the most perfect day to start this memoir 🇺🇸 ❤️🤍💙

I‘m giving up at a little over a third of the way through. It‘s very New Adult, very ‘why, exactly, aren‘t yall together,‘ very frustrating. I‘m hanging it up and moving on ✌️

“…the objectivity of solving a math problem…take solace in the quiet hours spent on a solo project.” Umm, I worked with high schoolers for a long, long time. Even the best and brightest don‘t talk to their friends like this 😐🫠

This is one of the most interestingly structured books I‘ve ever read, and I think it‘s quite a marvel. (*Huge, huge trigger warnings for domestic violence)

In no way is the book a romance but, man, what a quote…

“And she‘d carried on, unaware. Of him, and this special thing. Unaware, too, of what it is to have that person in your life, that person who will plan surprises, who will try to fix wings to your back.”

The 7th graders loved this just as much as last year‘s group. I did, too. I hope I read this every year for the rest of my teaching career.

Perfection. Poignant, funny, and heartwarming without the cheesiness. I loved this story, and it made me think that I‘ve probably been undervaluing Hartnett‘s earlier books. Might need to reread and see if I don‘t stumble across another character that I love as much as I love PJ. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

PJ Halliday is quickly becoming one of my favorite main characters, right up there with Nathan Drum and Linus Baker. 💞

“Women never did that back then, it was men who went out for a pack of smokes and never returned, but Regina Halliday was ahead of her time.” 😄

Gosh, I just think Lynn Painter does such perfectly cute, feel good, wholesome YA romances. ❤️

For years now, we‘ve zoomed past McKay‘s on our way back home from our new home 7 hours away. But today, TODAY, I finally got to stop in for just a quick minute. It. Is. EVERYTHING!!! I want heaven to be just like this but with good coffee and dogs running everywhere. Utter perfection 🤗🤓

This series is just everything. Sad to see it end. ❤️

It was Independent Bookstore Day! Of course I went to my local indie bookstore yesterday. 😍

Woah, buddy! This one was INTENSE and I loved it! Set in the aftermath of a huge earthquake, this is not for the faint of heart, but dang what a story?! My blood pressure was probably at a steady high while reading this book, but this writing is incredible. And to be a debut? Wowza. Top 10 books of the year, for sure! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love this series. I will read anything Lyla Sage writes at this point, but two things really grated my nerves: he affectionately ‘flicks her nose‘ and I‘m telling ya, I‘ll come out swinging if my husband ever picks up that habit; secondly, the reason the FMC gets angry near the end of the book (the third act almost breakup) is RIDICULOUS 🙄🙄🙄. The book is still a pick, still a win, and I loved it. 🤷🏼‍♀️🫶

I think this is going to be in my top books of the year. So funny, so entertaining, and so relatable. I loved it!

I love this type of humor in books 😆

A little smidge disappointed, but I think it‘s because my expectations for an Abby J. book are so high. The focus seemed to be on the problems the characters were facing instead of them building a real relationship. For me, it misses the humor and banter that I think makes Abby J. such a strong author. Still a pick, definitely, but my least favorite from her by far.

Blackwell‘s book mail 🤩📦📪🥳

I didn‘t even mean to read this one. I very rarely read BOTM books month of, but I was stuck in the car for about 8 minutes with only my Blue Box from the PO. The first 15-ish pages had me questioning my choice, but before I knew it, I was invested. This was really good! A miscommunication trope I could‘ve done without, but otherwise, pure gold. No smut. No cheese. Just the way I like my romances. I‘ll definitely be reading Sperry‘s sophomore book

People love this book; I love that for them. What I don‘t love? This book. It induced quite the amount of eye rolls and I was so done with everything being perfect. The MC had 2 perfectly perfect men fawning over her, she could run a whole lamb farm by herself, and I think she could talk to small animals, a la various Disney Princesses. Not for me, but we all get to have opinions, right? If it‘s drama you need, The Favorites is so much better.

Unpopular opinion, so if you love this book, please look away. I‘m about 3/4 of the way through and am currently right below a ‘hate reading‘ level. This feels very Frozen River to me. Here‘s what‘s bothering me: two completely perfect men pining over the MC, two completely perfect, precocious sons, and a narrator that really grates my nerves because she, too, is just so perfect. I‘m going to finish it, but I‘m might not be happy about it 😏

When your student shows you the most perfect bookmark in their copy of Sunrise on the Reaping…😂

So, so good! I‘ve always had a special place in my heart for Haymitch, and I really enjoyed reading his story. I hope there‘s more Hunger Games novels to come.

This is the second Daisy Haites in the series. One thing that makes this series so interesting is the perspective. The Magnolia books (1, 3, and 5) in the series are from a couple of characters‘ POV, and the Daisy books (2, 4) are from two other characters‘ POV. The timing overlaps so the reader is getting 4 different perspectives of the same events within two books (1 and 2, 3 and 4). Sad that I only have one book in the series left to read…

It‘s hereeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! 🤩🙌💃

It was fine, but I needed a little more. Two overachievers battling it out yet actually liking each other was an interesting take; however, the liking each other needed to be more prominent, maybe? Also, there was a weirdly large amount of references to death (she writes an entire email about strangling him bc he‘s “so frustrating” and then feels like she‘s about “to vomit up blood” during an tense moment with her peers). It was a bit strange…

This one was my least favorite of the three, but that‘s like your third favorite ice cream flavor. It‘s still really good and well-written and entertaining, but there were some real extra-dramatic things from the past brought up and one fight due to Magnolia being a complete nimwit that I didn‘t love. Other than that, this was another win for me, but I‘m really looking forward to getting back to Daisy Haites and seeing what she‘s been up to.

These UK covers might just be my favorite covers of all-time 🤩

This description of the “free-spirited hipster.” Lol, I love Magnolia! 😂🫶

I have a pretty clear memory of watching Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding duke it out, but I wouldn‘t consider myself an ice skating fan. Fortunately, you don‘t need to be a fan to enjoy this book, and I didn‘t just enjoy it, I loved it! Very Daisy Jones and Six with the oral history type interviews between chapters and thoroughly entertaining. Highly recommend. Five glowing stars for me! 🏆

Wow, getting this book was a hassle thanks to USPS. I ordered the last four books in the series. Two arrived in no time, but it would be the second in the series held up for 21 days after shipping, am I right?Blackwell‘s did their part to help; they‘re great! I went so far as to buy the other covers in a FB group… Anywho, this Daisy book is much more plot/action driven than Magnolia, and some of the plot is flat out outlandish, but I LOVED it!

“It‘s a hard thing about relationships, isn‘t it? Doesn‘t matter what type it is, if it‘s worth keeping, sometimes you have to say shit you don‘t want to, pry it out of your own mouth and toss it over a fence your mate‘s building now because that‘s what people do when you hurt them—build fences, raise walls, dig ditches, pitfalls, etc. If you‘re the one making the first move towards reconciliation, you sort of have to… (continued in comments)

I loved these characters. I especially loved gruff Alex, and Nate‘s backstory was a shocker. It‘s an interesting option for BOTM, but I hope a lot of people chose it. This copy is going to a friend because I need a copy that matches the one and only The House in the Cerulean Sea 🥰🤩

Please don‘t come at me. If you loved this, I am so glad for you! This DNF is of my own doing. I knew after Iron Flame that this series was headed in a direction that I didn‘t want to go. Nearly halfway through Onyx Storm, I‘m struggling to keep up with characters and places and the purpose of what is happening in the book. And to be honest, I‘m bored and there‘s too many books out there. I got caught up in the hype and it didn‘t work for me…again

A royal trying to be anonymous in Rome. Sweet story. I DNF-ed the other two stories in this collection (a Sally Thorne and a Jasmine Guillory) but thoroughly enjoyed the four I reviewed.

Good enough. Didn‘t enjoy it as much as the Abby J. or Christina Lauren, but still a pick.

“…looking like Gollum curled around her bottle of wine.” This line sent me! 😂🧙‍♀️🪄🧌

Cute!!!!!!!! I‘m loving this collection of short stories. Two for two so far ☑️

I really, really loved this little story. Abby Jimenez can do no wrong. 🤩🤓

I loved this group of spunky teens fighting the patriarchy and learning how the world works. These wayward girls were shunned and thrown away until there was no evidence of their pregnancy, and they only had each other to lean on. Grady Hendrix is masterful.

Thanks to @Read4life for putting this on the #auldlangspine list! I love a Golden Retriever boyfriend, and Shep did not disappoint. ❤️

It‘s arrived!!!!!!!!!!! 🤩🥳🤩🥳🤩🥳

Spent some time finishing the reading for this month‘s section of From the Front Porch‘s ‘Conquer a Classic‘ and loved every minute of it. So far, Don Quixote is cracking me up. Can‘t wait to hear the discussion at the end of the month 🤩

I loved it!!! These original covers are EVERYTHING, and I ordered the rest of the series from Blackwell‘s so I could have these super interesting, beautiful covers on my shelves. 🤩🤩. With that said, if you need to like the characters to enjoy a book, skip it. If you don‘t want to read about privileged millennials, skip it. If you can‘t handle the back and forth drama of 20-somethings‘ relationships, absolutely skip it. I think it‘s magic 🌃🪄🏆

Solid with enough depth to keep me engaged. Ex-high school rivals, Noelle and Theo, go on a road trip with the sweetest cardigan wearing grandpa. Love ensues.

Akbar‘s writing is really something special! 🌟🏅