“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! 🌟🏅

Wowza, the writing. Some chapters were absolutely magical and others, I wasn‘t even sure they needed to be there (but they do, and people smarter than me will relish in them). What a way to end my 2024 reading! Glad I stuck with this one.

I loved this! A darkly humorous tale made up of bad decisions, snarky comments, and everything else I love in a book. This one got me out of my “rom com is the only thing that can hold my attention” phase, and that‘s saying a lot. It deserves all the hype!

It was very ‘meh‘ for me. I don‘t need quite so many issues going on in my rom coms: her law stuff, his possible failing career, crazy Yellowstone-esque brother that doesn‘t want her to have a stake in the billion dollar whiskey company, her running when things get tough, his billions of dollars and private jet, blah blah blah. I enjoyed the first in the series, but this one might be my last 🫠

Loved it 🥰 This little duo of books has me heading for the Lynn Painter section of the library, which is funny because I did not love one of her adult novels that I read prior to picking up Book 1 in this series.

So flippin‘ cute, not cheesy. Loved it! 🥰

I think Strout‘s writing is simply perfection, and I loved this account of Lucy, Bob, Olive and the Crosby, Maine gang. The interconnected-ness of their lives was fascinating, but it‘s as if nothing and everything happens simultaneously. Strout just can‘t be beat.

Pretty excited about my list from @Read4life The ones marked in green are ones I‘ve read, and the blue ones are sitting on my shelves ready to be picked up in January. Thanks so much, @monalyisha for putting this together! Looking forward to lots of reading fun! #auldlangspine 🎉🎉🎉

“Well, phooey. I feel connected to you too. So there.” She stuck out her tongue.

lol, I feel seen! 😅🙋‍♀️🦄🌵

Jimmy Fallon, anyone? “H‘s are ewwww!!” 🤣

Another good one! I still can‘t get over these covers🤩, and I‘m sad that I have to wait for the next one. Reading the first three back-to-back has been tons of fun! Giddy up! 🤠🐴❤️🌄⛰️

Thoroughly enjoying this series! I love the main characters, the sidekick Teddy, the Golden Retriever men, all of it. Fun, spicy, and easy to read at this moment where my brain needs an easy win 🫶

Bought this one for the cover 😍🤷🏼‍♀️ but ended up really liking it! Onto the next in the series.

It‘s a wrong book, wrong time situation. My ‘bail‘ is directly related to my current inability to focus on anything requiring any brainpower. I actually enjoyed the half of this book that I read, and maybe I‘ll pick it up again, but for now, back to the library.

👍👍👍

Creepy story, concise writing, PICTURES!!! Thoroughly entertaining!

Every star ever available goes to this book! “Conquering this classic” with From the Front Porch podcast has been one of the best reading experiences of my whole life. I‘m practically a cowgirl now. Who knew I belong on the range?! 🤠

“…an undertaker in a black hat and blue bow tie…had even waxed his mustache and was altogether too shiny for Call‘s taste.”

I‘ve firmly decided that I need my romances to feature a Golden Retriever type. I‘m not made for the badboy boyfriends that say stuff that makes my inner prudish old lady, square-self cringe. This one was great! Baseball, sweetness, loved it! The perfect book to check the romance box until the next Abby Jimenez gets released.

‘Tis the season, right? ⚾️⚾️⚾️

Please don‘t come for me, but I think this suffered from sophomore slump. Maybe it‘s simply because House was SUCH an absolute winner and really big shoes to fill. For me, this one didn‘t have the same level of humor. I wanted more antics from the kids to show depth, wit, and sarcasm. Linus‘ internal thoughts were such a great part of Book 1, and that same line was missing for me. Disjointed, tacking too much, not the same, but still worth it.

“Anger,” she said… “It builds on top of old wounds, on scar tissue. It grows and grows until it becomes all you know.” 😣🙏

Ain‘t that the truth? 🧐

Here‘s my #bookhaul from BN this weekend. I spent 39 years in my hometown, and they get a BN after I‘m gone 🤪. We made the trek home to see @Allyneedsbooks and it was just perfect ❤️🫶🤟

I hate the cover of the kindle edition so much that I took a picture of the title page instead. I didn‘t *hate* this book, but it does have me thinking I‘m a complete prude. The writing was kind of silly in the beginning—she blows many a raspberry and he ‘gets off on‘ her voice or looking at her lips and it just doesn‘t sit right in this type of book, ya know? 😅 I liked it enough, but I‘m still so hung up on Abby J. books and that‘s that 🤷🏼‍♀️

Meh, it‘s not for me. Over 100 pages in, and I still don‘t have a good feel for the characters nor do I understand their attraction except that they seem to be around the same age and single. The ‘haunted‘ part of this could just be a lot cooler. A haunted town, a haunted house? All of that should be super interesting, but it‘s just not. Moving on. ✌️

I live in a tourist town and am married to a Nick who‘s an owner of a coffee shop. Seriously connecting to this book so far!

This is such a strange read for me. I took a big break halfway through then picked it up again and loved it. Then I skimmed much of the last fifty pages because I was over it. I think it was a bit too long. I think the writing was beautiful. I liked the character study, yet I was really ready for it to be over. So there‘s that. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Did I get overly excited and preorder this book from two different retailers? Yes, yes I did! 🤪

Newman is an autobuy for me. I love the fast-paced action and have found all three of her books to be wins for me. This didn‘t beat Falling (and probably not Drowning either) for me, but I still really enjoyed it.

Book mail is fun mail! 🤩

Humorous and meaningful, this behind the scenes look into the faculty of a high school is an absolute gem. It‘s a character study of various teachers and other faculty members, the struggles they face, and the reasons they return everyday (or not) to work. The constant thread of Mr. Lehrer‘s life and legacy was really exquisite. I loved it! 5 glowing stars!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

“When I go, I hope it‘s during professional development because the transition to death would feel so seamless” YESSSSS!!! 😂✊ #teachersoflitsy

The editing 🫠. It‘s this “into the crowed” and a consistent use of “Ms.” in reference to a male teacher that is indeed a “Mr.” in the book. This is a finished copy and is $28.99. The publisher is part of Penguin Random House, so money to pay an editor shouldn‘t be a problem. My English teacher eyes can‘t handle it 😵‍💫

Twenty pages in, and I can definitely tell Mathieu was/is a teacher. All my fellow teacher Littens, this one‘s for you! ✊🙌 The quote that made me realize that she really gets it is in the comments. 🤓

Overall, it was fine. Enjoyable enough to keep reading, but here‘s what worked my nerves: the MC ‘clinched her thighs‘ often, not in intimate situations, just randomly clinched her thighs together🤷🏼‍♀️. Secondly, the MC and her boo had extensively detailed, specific conversations WITH THEIR EYES! I cannot. Stop the madness. However, I loved the Native American perspective, and I bet Nava gets better and better as she writes more books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️